Just this month, the Department of reported that more Americans have jobs than the experts even expected! President Bush's pro-growth policies helped the U.S. economy add 211,000 jobs this month. That's 20,000 jobs more jobs than analysts predicted.

In fact, since the President's Jobs and Growth Act took effect, we have seen 5.2 million new jobs. This really speaks to the strength of the U.S. economy and the opportunities available to the Latino community as well.

Just consider our historic low rate of unemployment: the current rate of unemployment is 4.7 percent – lower than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s. We have seen 31 consecutive months of uninterrupted job growth.

Real disposable incomes have risen 2.2 percent over the last year, and real median family income was up 1.6 percent for 2004 versus 2001 – according to Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finance.

Additionally, household wealth reached $52.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2005 – that is an all time high. This presents a real opportunity for consumers to save toward the purchase of a home.

Federal revenues for Fiscal Year 2005 totaled $2.15 trillion – the highest level ever.

The Treasury took in more than $61.4 billion in revenue December 15, the due date for corporate estimated tax payments for the fourth quarter of this year. This represents a fourth quarter record and a 33 percent increase over last year's payments.

The $200 million-per-year American Dream Down Payment Act, which will help approximately 40,000 families each year with their down payment and closing costs.

The proposed Zero-Down Payment Initiative to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure mortgages for first-time homebuyers without a down payment.

Additionally, the President proposed $2.7 billion in USDA home loan guarantees to support rural homeownership and $1.1 billion in direct loans for low-income borrowers unable to secure a mortgage through a conventional lender. These loans are expected to provide 42,800 homeownership opportunities to rural families across America.



	April 19, 2006 JS-4190 Prepared Remarks of Anna Escobedo Cabral, U.S. Treasurer Before the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Washington, DC- Thank you for that wonderful introduction Gary. Good morning everyone! I'm so thrilled to be with you today in our nation's capital on such a beautiful day, and I want to thank you for inviting me to participate in this very important event – the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals 2006 Legislative Conference. Congratulations Gary to you, and of course Frances Martinez Meyers and all the NAHREP staff for putting together such a fantastic convention. It is amazing to me that this organization was started in 1999, and yet it already has over 14,000 members and 40 affiliate chapters nationwide. That is astounding! I appreciate all the hundreds of NAHREP members present at this legislative conference who have made the trip out to Washington, D.C. this week. Welcome – I hope your stay is enjoyable and very productive. I am honored to join you here, and to do so with our very own distinguished U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, who I believe exemplifies what every Latino, every American, can achieve through a commitment to hard work, a commitment to public service, and a commitment to just simply being a dedicated professional and all-around good person. Mr. Secretary, you are truly an inspiration for all Americans, and I know for certain you are to me! As 42^nd Treasurer of the United States, I feel very privileged, but I also have a huge responsibility knowing that I serve in this Administration along some of the brightest Latinos in government, such as Secretary Gutierrez, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Small Business Administrator Hector Barreto, Chair of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Cari Dominguez, Department of Energy Director of Economic Impact and Diversity Theresa Speake and many other talents. President Bush understands that the Latino community in the United States is a driving force in our growing economy, which is helping to propel it to new heights. That is why, he has placed in his Cabinet and Administration highly qualified individuals that also happen to possess a keen understanding and a heightened awareness about the special needs of minority and traditionally underserved individuals in the United States. I am certain each of you have been blessed with those same or very similar gifts and talents as well. I commend you for making use of them – for your on-the-ground work helping people become homeowners, one individual at a time. Thank you for sharing in President Bush's vision, and in this organization's mission, of making the dream of achieving an ownership society a reality. I have to say that groups like this, and individuals like you, have the potential of really helping our government efforts achieve maximum impact. There are a number of federal efforts specifically aimed at helping more Americans – more Latinos – keep, save, invest, manage wisely, and grow their money – money and assets that can help individuals build strong credit histories, secure reasonable and competitive interest rates, and ultimately purchase a first home. And do you know what the key component is to make this strategy work? YOU. The federal government needs the help of non-profit and private partnerships to help disseminate much of this crucial information and education at the local level. Many of our federal resources are free and come without a cost, but they must be explained by known and trusted sources in the community. I look forward to telling you more about our new national strategy for financial education later today. One of the highlights of my role as U.S. Treasurer is meeting and speaking with individuals like you, who are absolutely dedicated to enriching communities through education. I am excited to share with you information and opportunities that are available to the people you serve. At Treasury, there are a variety of ways we are working to help ensure that all people can benefit from the wonderful opportunities this country has to offer, particularly first-time homebuyers. THE ECONOMY I talk with people across the country to teach them about financial, coin and currency education. But I also have the great honor and responsibility of explaining how President Bush's policies have and will continue to catapult our country to new economic heights. President Bush and Secretary Snow work hard to promote economic policies that have a proven track record of helping people find work and stay employed. And I am proud of their astounding success. Just this month, the Department of reported that more Americans have jobs than the experts even expected! President Bush's pro-growth policies helped the U.S. economy add 211,000 jobs this month. That's 20,000 jobs more jobs than analysts predicted. In fact, since the President's Jobs and Growth Act took effect, we have seen 5.2 million new jobs. This really speaks to the strength of the U.S. economy and the opportunities available to the Latino community as well. Just consider our historic low rate of unemployment: the current rate of unemployment is 4.7 percent – lower than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s. We have seen 31 consecutive months of uninterrupted job growth. But ensuring that people have the means to attain income is only part of the equation. One of the ways the President has achieved our economy's success is through well-timed and fair tax cuts. And I'm sure, this week especially, we were all thinking about how much we can use those tax cuts. The truth is, lower tax rates, especially on investment, lie at the heart of this strong expansion. That is why I am hopeful, and it is so important, that Congress extends the President's tax relief. The bottom line is: the President's economic plan is working. Americans have more money in their pockets. Real disposable incomes have risen 2.2 percent over the last year, and real median family income was up 1.6 percent for 2004 versus 2001 – according to Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finance. Additionally, household wealth reached $52.1 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2005 – that is an all time high. This presents a real opportunity for consumers to save toward the purchase of a home. Tax Revenues are Surging. Federal revenues for Fiscal Year 2005 totaled $2.15 trillion – the highest level ever. The Treasury took in more than $61.4 billion in revenue December 15, the due date for corporate estimated tax payments for the fourth quarter of this year. This represents a fourth quarter record and a 33 percent increase over last year's payments. When I'm out and about doing my job, many people ask me, "How is this possible?" Interestingly, it's economics at its simplest: with more money to invest, there is more money available to expand, create new jobs, and create new businesses. The tax base expands. Tax cuts give the government more tax payment gains! FINANCIAL LITERACY Now, with all the money President Bush's economic plan and tax cuts put back into our pockets, Americans are faced with innumerable options on what to do with this money. This leads to a topic that is very important to me personally. While the President's tax cuts allowed us Americans to keep more of what we make, we need to know how to manage our finances well so we can make the most of what we keep. April is National Financial Literacy Month, and Secretary Snow joined me this month to launch our national financial literacy campaign. This is a priority for the Treasury and for my office. We want to educate Americans about the resources that exist to help them make the most of what they earn. And that not only includes outreach to our children in college, who are presented with a mind-boggling number of seemingly "free" credit cards during their freshman year. I'm also talking about people like us, and people like your clients in the Latino community, who need to understand the importance of investor security and homeownership in the language of their preference and in the venues they feel most at home in. And again, it's only with YOUR help that we can do this. I encourage you to take some time to visit MyMoney.gov on the Internet to learn more about the free resources and tools available in Spanish and in English. And I please urge you to share it with your clients who are thinking about buying their first home. I want to particularly call your attention to the federal resources in Spanish on such topics as credit and homeownership provided at MyMoney.gov. Again, I hope you will help make those available in your place of business and help us get them out to local community centers in your area. *Homeownership Initiatives* I believe that with improved education and by working together we can achieve the President's commitment to increasing the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade. The President has called on the private sector to help in this effort. And I understand about two dozen companies and organizations have made commitments to increase minority homeownership - including pledges to provide more than $1.1 trillion in mortgage purchases for minority homebuyers this decade. I am also particularly excited about the non-profit's commitment to this goal. I congratulate NAHREP on the launch of its new web-based university to provide real estate professionals with the skills and tools to improve the services they offer to Latinos in the United States. President Bush is working hard to help Americans realize the dream of homeownership. Some of his other initiatives include: The $200 million-per-year American Dream Down Payment Act, which will help approximately 40,000 families each year with their down payment and closing costs. The proposed Zero-Down Payment Initiative to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure mortgages for first-time homebuyers without a down payment. Additionally, the President proposed $2.7 billion in USDA home loan guarantees to support rural homeownership and $1.1 billion in direct loans for low-income borrowers unable to secure a mortgage through a conventional lender. These loans are expected to provide 42,800 homeownership opportunities to rural families across America. In closing, I hope the information I have shared with you today will be useful and that you will share it with those you provide assistance to in your respective communities on a day-to-day basis. I look forward to learning much from your work here this week. Thank you again for your invitation and attention, and please enjoy the rest of the conference.