Remarks of Secretary Dan Glickman National Rural Housing Coalition Release No. 0635.96 Remarks of Secretary Dan Glickman National Rural Housing Coalition Washington, D.C. -- December 12, 1996 INTRODUCTION Thank you. It's good to be here. In fact, since this is one of the first big speeches I've given since Election Day, I'd say it's very good to be here. I'm told that George Bernard Shaw once -- in preparation for opening night of one of his plays -- sent a pair of tickets to Winston Churchill. With them, he enclosed a note: Please bring a friend ... if you have one.' Not to be outdone, Churchill fired back his regrets that he could not attend opening night. But,' he added, please send tickets for the second night ... if there is one.' It feels good to be part of a second Administration ... headed by a leader who cares deeply about rural America ... who is himself a son of rural America ... who knows the people there, and wants to see every one of them succeed economically, as communities, as families, and as Americans. Every time we in politics go through an election, there's a tendency afterwards to ask the basic philosophical question: What does it all mean?' What were The People' telling us? I think they said, we like a strong economy.' I think they said, America's on the right track, and we prefer steady progress to quick, radical lurches.' And, I think they said, we don't want to see a bunch of bickering in Washington. We want to see Republicans and Democrats work through their differences in a thoughtful manner, and do what's best for the country.' Some will say the tide has turned this way or that. But I prefer the old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same.' I have a hunch that most people don't particularly like hard-ball politics. Instead, I think most of us believe the best politics is good government -- pure and simple. This Administration has been both the practitioner and protector of good government. We answered the call to stop reinventing the wheel and start reinventing government. We've done more with less, thought in new ways and empowered communities. But we also understand that government can do good. Abraham Lincoln, who founded the Department of Agriculture, once said, the legitimate object of government is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they cannot, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves.' RURAL DEVELOPMENT IS GOOD GOVERNMENT Given that definition, I can think of few federal programs that better symbolize good government -- indeed great government -- than this Administration's rural development programs. We have President Clinton's Water 2000 initiative -- which is bringing safe, running water to the 2.5 million rural Americans who currently don't have it. They will by the year 2000. We're using technology to bring health care and education to remote areas -- saving lives and giving rural students access to the advanced courses they need to get into college -- oftentimes making them the first in their family to go to college. We've established rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities ... channeling federal resources into the neighborhoods that need them most ... giving the people there the power to make the decisions that will affect their lives -- whether it's job training, small business development, affordable housing, or other community needs. And, we have the President's Homeownership Initiative. He wants 8 million new homeowners by the turn of the century. With your help, we'll reach that goal, and it will be an increase in rural homeowners that puts us over the top. Federal housing programs have a special place in good government. Our rural housing programs have helped more than 2 million Americans buy or keep their homes -- options they probably wouldn't otherwise have had. Under President Clinton, we've streamlined the programs so more resources get out of the bureaucracy and into the community. But the underlying fact remains: These programs work. They make a tangible, positive difference in people's lives, and they should be protected. Strong federal housing programs are essential because they help people lay the foundation for their American Dream. In many ways, homeownership is the American Dream. It epitomizes our country's golden rule: If you work hard and play by the rules, you can build a better future for yourself and your family. If we let that dream slip away for any American, then we turn our backs on an important part of what it means to be Americans. NRHC/USDA TEAMWORK I can't overemphasize the role this coalition has played in keeping that dream alive. In last year's farm bill debate, we beat back a proposal to block grant rural development funds. Instead, we passed the President's Rural Performance Partnership Initiative, giving us the best of both worlds -- more locally based decisionmaking while retaining rural development as a national priority. You were also with us every step of the way on self-help housing -- the idea that if folks pick up a hammer and help build a house for someone who needs it, they can earn sweat equity' toward the cost of their own home. This is the ideal of good government because it's government not simply doing for people, but government empowering people to do for themselves. Every story coming out of this program is inspirational. I'll give you one that's in keeping with the season. Monroe and Katherine Presley have lived their whole lives in the Mississippi Delta -- the poorest region of our country which President Clinton designated as a rural Empowerment Zone. For more than 30 years, Monroe was a farmer. He, Katherine, and their 10 children spent most of that time in a two-bedroom house with no indoor plumbing. Three years ago, Monroe sold his farm and went to work in a factory. Katherine tried her hand at construction. Through the self-help housing program, she literally built a better future for her family. With the tireless work of Harriet Macklin, Bob Rapoza, and this organization, we were able to double the funding for self-help housing last year to help more families like the Presleys. In last year's budget climate, that was an amazing accomplishment. I'd like to tell you about another one. A week from this Saturday, Monroe and Katherine Presley, along with 8 of their children -- two are now in college -- will move into a 5-bedroom house. Arguably of greater importance, it has two bathrooms. Four days after their move, the Presleys will celebrate their first Christmas as a family in a home of their own. BUDGET OUTLOOK The budget stakes will be even higher this year. The country has made it clear that the federal government should live as they do -- within their means. More importantly, I think this will be the year we actually do balance the budget. The challenge will be to do it in a way that doesn't sell out America's priorities. I know that's foremost in the President's mind going into this process. We're still in the very macro stages of working through the numbers, so I don't have many details for you. But I can say that this Administration is as committed as you are to strong housing programs. We have our work cut out for us. Last year, we requested $1.2 billion. Congress cut us back by $200 million. This -- along with a subsidy rate that changed with interest rates -- combined for a 40 percent drop-off in funding. That's a serious problem that needs fixing. I'll look to the Fund for Rural America and other sources to try and close the gap. But I don't want to underestimate the difficulty of that task. The Fund is limited, and there's a tremendous backlog in rural development programs -- from housing, to clean water, to distance learning and telemedicine. These are all basic needs that shouldn't be pitted against one another, but joined in one strategy to improve the rural standard of living. REINVENTING GOVERNMENT We'd also like to use the Fund to try some new things, so we're not simply relying on the ways of the past to tackle the challenges of the future. Our rural development programs are on the cutting-edge of reinvented government. In fact, USDA's restructuring of our single-family direct-loan program is one of the best reinvention stories this Administration has to tell. We took an outmoded, outdated and inefficient system .... We're talking piles of forms that had to be filled out by hand ... that never made it into a computer ... that were stored in cardboard boxes in local offices around the country. There was no centralized operation, and no way to pay taxes or insurance with your mortgage. If it were a private bank, you'd have left decades ago. We replaced all of this with a streamlined, centralized, state-of-the-art system which we call DLOSS' -- short for Dedicated Loan Origination and Servicing System. It may sound like management mumbo jumbo, but the bottom line is it will save taxpayers a quarter of a billion dollars over the next five years. We've also scrapped more than 250 pages of regulations. Under the old system, single family housing regs took up about 290 pages in the Federal Register. I have trouble getting through a spy novel that long, let alone a legal document. Now, we're down to 30 pages, and it's readable. TARGETTING LIMITED RESOURCES But reinventing government is more than just streamlining and modernizing, it's also rethinking how we use limited resources. At President Clinton's request, we're targetting resources where they're needed most, and where they can have the greatest impact. This means doing more -- particularly in the low- and very-low income categories -- whether it's in an Empowerment Zone, Indian country or elsewhere. As we shift into an era of even tighter budgets, we have to protect the people on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. That means protecting the 515 rental program -- which helps many senior citizens, farm laborers, and others keep a roof over their head. And it means taking a stand for the Section 502 loan program. This is the only federal program that gives low- and very-low income families a chance at homeownership in rural America. This program reaches families who -- on average -- earn about half the rural median household income ... hard-working families like the Presleys who just need that extra boost. What we have to make crystal clear in this debate is that what's good for the Presleys is good for America. A BIPARTISAN APPROACH TO HOUSING IN 21ST CENTURY Homeownership is the backbone of every community. It's a simple fact of life that if you're going to stick around for a while, you get to know your neighbors, you take an interest in the quality of your schools, the success of local businesses, and the general well-being of your community. I've heard the 20th Century described as the time the country moved to the city.' Until recently that was definitely the case. Throughout the 80s, rural populations declined significantly as people moved to urban centers in search of jobs. With a serious, sustained focus on rural development, President Clinton's started to turn that trend around. Just last year, we saw more people come home to rural America. In 1995, a million more people moved into rural towns than moved out. More importantly, folks are once again seeing the country as a place where they can make a living and raise a family. This Administration's been doing everything in our power to support that trend. We've invested in small businesses that are making a comeback on Main Street. We've improved rural water systems, health care and education. We've helped boost farm incomes to a record high. And we've increased homeownership. We can say all we want about helping rural economies, but unless people settle there, there won't be much of an economy to talk about. So as we focus on building up our economy ... on giving every citizen a fair shot at the American Dream ... on coming together to take a stand against crime, against poverty, for stronger schools and greater opportunities ... all of this has as its foundation strong communities ... and strong communities are built around strong families that lay down roots, get to know their neighbors, and form a tight-knit community. CONCLUSION President Clinton has extended his hand across the partisan divide, and said let's work together and move this country forward. He's appointed a Republican to his Cabinet -- Senator William Cohen who will make a fine Secretary of Defense. In accepting that appointment, Senator Cohen noted that America's defense should be a bipartisan effort. I've long felt that way about our agriculture policy and our housing policy. In fact, I've felt it should be non-partisan. These programs are too central to the economic health of our nation and the values that define us as a nation. We'll need this organization fighting with us to make that case. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have on our side a President from Hope, Arkansas -- population 9,768. When I became Secretary of Agriculture, the first thing President Clinton told me was don't forget rural America, places like my home town.' I haven't. I know no one in this room has. We need to make sure urban and suburban Americans don't forget. They may not understand rural life, but every American understands the desire to own a home. This Administration is committed to seeing more rural Americans achieve that dream. On behalf of President Clinton, I'd like to thank each of you for making its pursuit your life's work as well. Together, we'll work to see the day when every rural family has a place to call home. Thank you. ###