mr. speaker , i rise in strong opposition to the rule on h.r. 1461 . 
it adds an anti-minority , anti-family provision that was not included in any of the sections of the legislation i supported in committee . 
the rule will prohibit nonprofit groups involved in voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities from receiving money from the affordable housing fund created by the bill . 
it will negatively impact good civic organizations in my district such as amigos del valle , national council of la raza , and catholic and faith-based organizations . 
this rule is strongly opposed by large latino groups , including naleo , lulac , nclr , and others . 
the newly added provision is included in the manager 's amendment and appears to be aimed at suppressing the civic engagement of low- and moderate-income and minority families . 
i respectfully urge that these provisions be removed before the amendment and bill come to the house floor for a vote . 
i will insert at this point in the record two letters to speaker hastert . 
one is dated october 24 , 2005 , by nclr , lulac , and the league of united latin american citizens . 
the second letter is from the jesuit conference , and that letter is signed by the reverend bradley schaeffer . 
october 24 , 2005 . 
dear mr . 
speaker : it has come to our attention that the house leadership has forged a compromise with members of the house financial services committee regarding the federal housing finance reform act of 2005 ( h.r. 1461 ) . 
the newly-added provision is included in the manager 's amendment and appears to be aimed at suppressing the civic engagement of low- and moderate-income and minority families . 
we urge that these provisions be removed before the amendment and bill come to the house floor for a vote . 
with strong bipartisan support , h.r. 1461 ( federal housing finance reform act of 2005 ) passed the house financial services committee . 
the bill contained a measure that would create an affordable housing fund , potentially generating billions of dollars for development . 
as you know , with housing prices continuing to rise , many communities suffer from a lack of affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for hard-working families . 
unfortunately , after passage , a compromise was struck between the house leadership and the financial services committee that would preclude most nonprofits from accessing the funds . 
many of the organizations that would be left out are uniquely positioned to develop the affordable housing needed in their communities . 
specifically , nonprofit applicants would be restricted from participating in voter registration and many classic civic engagement activities in the twelve months before the time of application . 
in addition , the nonprofit applicants would be deemed ineligible if they are affiliated with an organization that engages in these activities . 
notably , for-profit organizations would not have the same restrictions . 
as representatives of diverse hispanic constituencies , we have the following concerns : minority voter suppression . 
the latino community has experienced a long history of voter suppression . 
nonprofit community-based organizations have played a critical role in fighting against those who would limit the voice of latinos . 
the groups often serve as the main point of contact in hispanic communities and , in many cases , they are the only local organization addressing their social , civic , and educational needs . 
the proposed manager 's amendment to h.r. 1461 wi11 force these trusted community centers to choose between providing civic education and affordable housing . 
for-profit double standard . 
inexplicably , under this provision , for-profit developers would not face similar restrictions and would likely become the majority of fund recipients . 
even for-profits with a dubious track record would be eligible to receive funds while public interest social service providers would not . 
we urge you to preserve the integrity of h.r. 1461 by fighting to remove the restrictions on nonprofits . 
sincerely , national association of latino elected and appointed officials . 
national council of la raza . 
national puerto rican coalition , inc . 
league of united latin american citizens . 
jesuit conference , office of the president , washington , dc , october 25 , 2005 . 
dear mr . 
speaker : i am writing to you on behalf of the jesuit conference board of the society of jesus in the united states to express our concern regarding an amendment to h.r. 1461 , the federal housing finance reform act of 2005 , that concerns the affordable housing fund . 
we support the fund but strongly oppose a manager 's amendment that would severely restrict the organizations eligible to build much needed affordable housing and would be an affront to the promotion of civic engagement . 
today there are approximately 3 , 300 jesuit priests and brothers working in our domestic programs and abroad which include : over 100 parishes , various social works throughout the country , 28 jesuit-affiliated colleges and universities , and around 60 jesuit-affiliated secondary and middle schools . 
many of our projects put us in direct contact with low-income people that benefit from affordable housing programs , or that suffer from a lack of housing . 
our nation desperately needs more housing that is affordable to those struggling to get by . 
the u.s. catholic bishops , in their statement , putting children and families first , comment that , `` many families can not find or afford decent housing , or must spend so much of their income for shelter that they forego other necessities , such as food and medicine ... .. 
[ the catholic bishops ] support housing policies which seek to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing and help families pay for it. '' the affordable housing fund would address some of this great need by increasing the supply of affordable homes for very low and extremely low-income families . 
we applaud the effort to increase the affordable housing stock in the country . 
however , the manager 's amendment that will be introduced would disqualify any nonprofit organization , including faith-based groups , from using resources from the fund to build affordable housing if that organization has engaged in voter registration , get-out-the-vote , and other nonpartisan voter participation activities . 
furthermore , language in the amendment also disqualifies organizations that are `` affiliated , '' a term broadly defined , with any organization that engages in such activities . 
concerns that the affordable housing fund would finance partisan grassroots lobbying are unfounded . 
current law , and language in h.r. 1461 , already contains sufficient restrictions to ensure that funds are used solely for affordable housing and not for other activities . 
however , the manager 's amendment will prevent even those groups that both build housing and that conduct constitutionally protected voter registration activities from receiving funds . 
we strongly urge you to allow a vote on an amendment to delete the harmful provisions of the manager 's amendment described above . 
h.r. 1461 and the affordable housing fund present congress with an opportunity to provide housing relief to the families that need it most . 
do n't let the unconstitutional manager 's amendment get in the way . 
in the lord , 