mr. chairman , i am very proud of the committee print of h.r. 1461 , legislation designed to improve the regulatory structure of the government sponsored enterprises , gses . 
i am pleased that two amendments i offered at markup are part of the bill . 
one of my amendments preserves the minority component of the single family housing goals relating to underserved areas , with a major improvement in its implementation . 
my other amendment provides protection from liability for a gse that makes reports to its regulator concerning transactions involving fraudulent loans or financial instruments . 
this provision was modeled after the protection from potential liability for such reports that banking institutions currently have under the bank secrecy act . 
h.r. 1461 also contains a much-needed expansion of fannie and freddie 's affordable housing goals . 
the legislation directs each company to establish and manage an affordable housing fund to promote affordable housing and assist victims of hurricane katrina . 
the gses would devote 3.5 percent of after tax profits to the fund beginning in 2006 , which increases to 5 percent annually beginning in 2007 . 
in 1989 , in the firrea legislation , we created a similar affordable housing program in the federal home loan bank system . 
the ahp requires the fhlbs to devote 10 percent of each year 's net profits as grants for affordable housing projects sponsored by their member financial institutions . 
the ahp 's success can be measured by the fact that today it constitutes the largest private source of funding for affordable housing and community development projects . 
in my hometown of chicago , the federal home loan bank of chicago 's ahp plays a key role in local efforts to address the housing needs of low- and moderate-income families by providing financial assistance for rental and owner-occupied housing , assisted living facilities , senior housing developments , homeless shelters and group homes . 
in 2004 alone , the chicago fhlb awarded $ 32.1 million of subsidies to 109 projects in illinois and wisconsin , and another 15 projects in other states . 
as a result , 5 , 680 housing units were created or rehabilitated , of which 58 percent were for very low-income households . 
another $ 10.4 million was funded in downpayment assistance to help 2 , 278 families buy their first home in illinois or wisconsin . 
while these figures are impressive , numbers do not quite tell the whole story . 
let me describe one ahp project in the humboldt park/west town area of chicago to provide a better sense of the impact these programs can have in their local communities . 
joly hernandez and jose rodriguez , with their children imani and albert , lived in chicago 's humboldt park/west town community . 
like many , they wanted a larger apartment , but could not afford the higher rent due the dramatic rise in the cost of housing in the area . 
in the 1990s , with increased recognition of humboldt park as an attractive , artist-friendly neighborhood and historic district , property values soared , and affordable rental housing was lost to speculators and developers of expensive luxury condos and single-family homes . 
in 1994 , bickerdike redevelopment corporation , brc , a nonprofit , community-based affordable housing developer and property manager began the arduous task of planning the harold washington unity cooperative to address the loss of affordable housing in the humboldt park/west town area . 
despite the increase of new construction and housing renovation in the area , a few pockets remained undeveloped . 
brc knew that if the vacant land and neglected buildings were not immediately claimed for affordable housing , more long-time residents would be displaced . 
a project was planned to develop 87 housing units in 18 buildings over 10 sites in a formerly blighted four-block area bordered by kedzie avenue , albany avenue , chicago avenue and ohio street . 
all 87 units in the cooperative will remain affordable to households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income for at least 15 years . 
the total cost of the project was almost $ 14 million . 
the chicago fhlb , working through bank one , which sponsored the project 's application , provided an ahp grant of $ 500 , 000 . 
in addition , the project received financing from cdbg funds through the city of chicago , trust funds from the illinois housing and development agency , federal low income housing tax credits , illinois state tax credits , an empowerment zone grant , a tax increment financing , tif , loan and first mortgage financing . 
ten years after its original conception , the harold washington unity cooperative stands as an enviable display of community pride , determination and opportunity . 
because of the hard work and dedication of brc , joly , jose and their two children now live in a new home in their old neighborhood . 
they also belong to the bickerdike residents council and feel a strong sense of community and camaraderie with their neighbors . 
extending this program to fannie and freddie is long overdue , has overwhelming bipartisan support , and i look forward to similar success stories once this legislation is implemented . 
those of us on the committee have worked very hard to ensure that the fund can only be used for affordable housing purposes . 
it can not be used for political advocacy or lobbying either by the receiving entity or a third party affiliated with them . 
it can not be used for counseling services or tax preparation or travel expenses , administrative costs or anything that is outside of the gse charter . 
it can only be used for affordable housing purposes . 
but apparently that was not enough for a small minority of radical conservative members , who insisted on inserting a provision restricting non-partisan civic activities by non-profits . 
this language would prohibit non-profit organizations ( as well as any affiliate of the non-profit ) from using their own funds to engage in non-partisan voter registration or get-out-the-vote activities . 
profit earning entities are not similarly restricted . 
low-income housing groups and faith-based groups would be forced to choose between obtaining funding for low-income housing and using other funds to engage in non-partisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities . 
this provision is likely unconstitutional . 
the manager 's amendment also contains language that would require that a faith-based or social welfare non-profit entity applying for a grant must have as its sole `` primary purpose '' the provision of affordable housing . 
this restriction is particularly problematic for social welfare and faith-based groups , which have a broader mission than exclusively affordable housing . 
these provisions are not only offensive substantively , but i have a real procedural problem with the way these provisions are being inserted in the bill . 
they are a part of the manager 's amendment , which also contains important provisions that were worked out on a bipartisan basis , and provisions designed to help hurricane victims . 
the rules committee has unconscionably denied us an opportunity to vote to strike these offensive provisions on a stand alone basis . 
they did this because they knew we would win such a vote and they needed to bow to a tiny minority of conservatives who apparently have little regard for the constitution . 
regretfully , i must oppose h.r. 1461 due to the inclusion of these provisions and the fact that we were not even allowed an opportunity to vote to strike it . 
i sincerely hope that these provisions are stripped in conference and , if that is the case , i look forward to enthusiastically supporting the conference report so that this otherwise excellent legislation can become law . 
