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555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph: 202.224.6342
Fax: 202.224.1100
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Raleigh Office:
310 New Bern Avenue
Suite 122
Raleigh, NC 27601
Ph: 919.856.4630
Toll Free: 866.420.6083
Fax: 919.856.4053
Salisbury Office:
225 North Main Street
Suite 304
Salisbury, NC 28144
Ph: 704.633.5011
Toll Free: 866.420.6084
Fax: 704.633.2937
Western Office:
401 North Main Street
Suite 200
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Ph: 828.698.3747
Fax: 828.698.1267
Eastern Office:
306 South Evans Street
Greenville, NC 27835
Ph: 252.329.1093
Fax: 252.329.1097
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Speeches
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DOLE REMARKS TO THE NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS 87TH ANNUAL INSTALLATION BANQUET
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January 17th, 2008 - Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the wonderful welcome. And thank you, John, for your kind words of introduction. You do a great job keeping my staff and me informed about the concerns and interests of the North Carolina REALTORS. It is a privilege to be with you tonight.
My heartfelt congratulations to incoming president Bullard and the other volunteer leaders of this organization. With more than 44 thousand members, the North Carolina Association of REALTORS is a driving force in our state – promoting initiatives and sound policies that bolster homeownership and economic growth.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you help families get the keys not just to a new home, but also to a better quality of life and a brighter future. Parents who own their homes provide more stable environments for their children. These children do better in school and become more involved in the community. These families are able to build wealth, many for the first time, thereby helping secure funds for retirement and higher education. Families who own their own homes also are more likely to spend the money necessary to properly maintain the home and thus improve the neighborhood. These positive results have a ripple effect throughout the community…and the economy. I am so proud to work with you to help more North Carolinians turn their dreams into reality.
While it is very good news that nearly 70 percent of Americans now own their own home, and minority homeownership has risen to more than 50 percent, we must continue to focus our efforts on raising homeownership rates, particularly for minorities. This certainly is a priority for me as a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Right now in the Committee, we are focused on the subprime lending issues that have recently impacted thousands of American families, the housing sector and our economy as a whole. I know this is very much a top concern for you all. No question, when a homeowner faces foreclosure, everyone involved loses. The homeowner is thrown into great uncertainty with damaged credit and limited prospects, and many foreclosed homes have not been adequately maintained, which knocks off around 20 percent of the value and requires substantial money and effort to get the house back on the market. Furthermore, the subprime crisis has certainly tightened credit and made it more expensive to purchase a home, despite the Federal Reserve’s recent actions to lower the federal funds rate.
I am pleased that the Senate recently approved the Federal Housing Administration Modernization Act, which is important in addressing some of the housing market troubles. This legislation will reduce down payments and raise maximum mortgage amounts for FHA-insured loans and help thousands of homeowners now struggling with unaffordable mortgages or heading for foreclosure. And I must say I’m proud that I succeeded in improving this bill by delaying implementation of a provision that would have made FHA mortgages more expensive for low-income and minority homebuyers.
In addition, the Federal Reserve recently announced proposed changes to the Truth-in-Lending regulations that protect consumers from unfair and deceptive home mortgage lending and advertising practices. This comes on the heels of the Treasury Department’s new HOPE NOW program, which is aimed at assisting homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. I am encouraged that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department are devoting time and energy in an effort to provide stability in the mortgage and capital markets. Along those lines, I expect the Banking Committee to consider predatory lending legislation over the coming months. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are advocating more aggressive remedies, but I believe it is important not to overreact. I look forward to hearing from you and working together to help shape this debate.
Just as important as supporting policies that encourage homeownership, we must work to remove and prevent barriers to owning a home. This past year, North Carolina REALTORS demonstrated your remarkable ability to lead and make things happen in defeating 16 county real estate transfer tax referendums and saving North Carolina homeowners millions of dollars annually. Congratulations to you all on this well deserved victory! You should know that I take very seriously protecting the mortgage interest tax deduction, and I am proud that last year, I helped expand it to also make mortgage insurance equally tax deductible through the year 2010.
Let me also mention legislation I’ve discussed with a number of you – the Community Choice in Real Estate Act. I strongly believe that banks and real estate companies should focus on their core missions, and I have become increasingly concerned about efforts to allow the mixing of commerce and banking. When banks gain commercial interests, they can lose their independent standing. For example: If a bank owns a gas station in town, that bank will be less likely to lend to someone looking to open a second competing gas station. In short, consumers benefit from competitive, independent services. I have not signed on to the Community Choice in Real Estate Act because we need a less contentious approach that can actually advance in the Senate, where consensus is key to legislative success. But please be assured, I want to be part of a solution to this issue, and I understand how important it is to your industry.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you may remember, when I ran for the Senate in 2002, I laid out a number of my priorities for North Carolina in The Dole Plan. I can summarize The Dole Plan in just three words – jobs, jobs, jobs. My Senate work is guided by this plan to foster a climate, in North Carolina and across the nation, that will create jobs and grow our economy – by reducing taxes and other regulatory burdens, educating and training a highly-skilled workforce, by building and updating infrastructure, and by ensuring affordable, accessible energy and health care. We’ve accomplished a tremendous deal over the last five years, and there is much more I plan to do this year, and in a second term.
As you know, North Carolina is a proud military state. Over 100,000 men and women are stationed at our bases, which annually contribute 18 billion dollars to the state’s economy. In the Senate, I serve on the Armed Services Committee, where I am focused on supporting North Carolina’s installations, our military personnel and their families.
To this end, I recently called for our nation to commit no less than 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product to annual defense budgets. We currently spend 3.3 percent of GDP each year on defense – the lowest point since before World War II. The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other experts now tell us that 3.3% will be inadequate to fund priorities, including personnel, health care, research, construction and military procurement. Just think about this: Due to budget constraints, we are building only one Virginia-class attack submarine per year while China builds five. Within only a few years, China’s submarine fleet will match our own. Furthermore, the average age of the 5,000 airplanes in the Air Force inventory is 24 years – most airplanes should be retired at about 20 years. There are numerous other sobering examples of why we must invest the resources now to remedy this situation – if we do not, there will be serious consequences for our national security.
Our defense budget also must provide for the very best health care for our service members and their families, especially our wounded warriors. Sadly, too many service members are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries that require lengthy recoveries. I recently worked with a bipartisan coalition of senators to get the Family and Medical Leave Act extended for families of wounded service members – because having the comfort and support of a loved one can make a dramatic difference in the recovery process.
Ladies and gentlemen, in closing, as we begin 2008 and what promises to be a long, busy political season here in North Carolina, let me say that I appreciate the active role the North Carolina REALTORS play in the political process, by learning about the issues and the candidates’ positions, and most importantly, going to the polls. Let’s be sure to encourage our neighbors and friends to exercise their right to vote this year.
It is a great joy to work with you and a privilege to be here. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you this evening. God bless each and every one of you, the great state of North Carolina and this land of the free…America.
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17th - current Speech
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 : radio clip |  : television clip
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