mr. chairman , i rise today in support of the bill .  as chairman of the subcommittee on housing and community opportunity , i have had a keen interest in the strength of the mortgage market .  the mortgage market has single-handedly kept the economy afloat during these difficult economic times .  passage of this bill sends an important signal that we understand the importance of gses and the secondary-mortgage markets in maintaining a stable economy .  more importantly , i want to comment on the issues of affordable housing and the effect of the affordable housing fund , which is a great fund to have , and we have worked with the minority on this issue and the gentleman from ohio ( mr. oxley )  and his staff and our staff .  i believe that we will have a profound impact on the country with the fund .  as members know , it is very difficult to achieve the delicate balance between meeting public policy goals and ensuring a free market business climate .  the creation of the government-sponsored enterprises was one such feat that provides an invaluable public service of creating and maintaining a secondary market for the mortgage markets .  as a result , our homeownership rates and our access to capital are the best in the world .  on the other hand , i also understand that because these financial institutions are creatures of the federal government , we also have a responsibility to ensure they achieve a public-policy purpose .  homeownership rates among minority families are increasing , but we can obviously do much better than the current average of 50 percent for african americans , hispanic urban and rural communities , just to name a few .  we have to ensure that these communities that have not been full participants in the pursuit of the american dream can be reached .  fannie mae and freddie mac own or guarantee nearly half of this country 's residential mortgage market .  the legislation we are considering today would markedly improve gse performance of their housing mission .  the committee on financial services approved major sections on new single-family and multi-family housing goals ; the duty to serve lower income markets , and i stress duty to serve them ; and a new affordable housing fund with contributions from the enterprises .  of course , there are other parts of this bill that are good , and i give credit to the gentleman from ohio ( mr. oxley )  and the gentleman from louisiana ( mr. baker )  in strengthening oversight .  today , i just wanted to speak freely on the actual housing fund .  i urge my colleagues to support this legislation .  