Statement from HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson

I want to offer my full support for the President's Homesteading Initiative, which was introduced today, and urge prompt congressional consideration of this legislation.  President Bush and I believe that homesteading is an important part of a long-term recovery strategy for the Gulf Coast region.   The Act will allow low-income families who were displaced from their homes to return to their communities as homeowners.  By providing dislocated residents of these disaster areas the opportunity to own a stake in their community, we will be planting the seeds of new and vital neighborhoods, rooted in the American Dream.

Under this program, HUD and other federal agencies will transfer eligible property to local units of government to be allocated to qualifying families.  In exchange for receiving title to the property, the family will agree to make needed repairs within one year and remain in their new homes for at least five years. 

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