Bush Proposes New Homeownership Goal

President Bush is proposing to establish a new homeownership goal of creating 7 million affordable homes if he is re-elected."Tonight we set a new goal: 7 million more affordable homes in the next 10 years so that more American families will be able to open the door and say, 'Welcome to my home,' " President Bush said in accepting the Republican nomination for a second term. To reach this goal, the president will rely on a federal downpayment assistance program and passage of legislation to create a federally insured zero-downpayment mortgage program. He said he wants more emphasis on rural housing and a reduction in regulatory barriers that increase housing costs. Mr. Bush renewed his support for passage of a single-family affordable housing tax credit, which he proposed during his 2000 election campaign, that would provide tax credits for developers to build affordable housing. In addition, the president is calling on the housing industry, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and others to help meet the goal. In his first term, President Bush set a goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million families by 2010.