PRINTER'S NO. 1707
No. 161 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY DENT, KITCHEN, MURPHY, COSTA, ERICKSON, O'PAKE,
HUGHES, LOGAN, WAGNER, TARTAGLIONE, TOMLINSON, ORIE, STOUT,
ROBBINS, SCHWARTZ, WENGER, EARLL, PUNT, MOWERY, M. WHITE,
THOMPSON, D. WHITE AND BELL, FEBRUARY 4, 2002
REFERRED TO URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING, FEBRUARY 4, 2002
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating the work and accomplishments of the Pennsylvania
2 Housing Finance Agency on the occasion of its 30th
3 anniversary.
4 WHEREAS, In 1972 the General Assembly and the Governor of the
5 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were seeking a means to increase
6 the availability of affordable housing for citizens at no cost
7 to the taxpayer; and
8 WHEREAS, The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1407 and the
9 Governor signed it into law, making it Act 282 of 1972; and
10 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency began
11 operations in December 1972 with a governing board and staff
12 members who had developed experience financing affordable rental
13 housing through the sale of securities to private investors
14 throughout the United States; and
15 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency was again
16 called upon by the General Assembly and the Governor in 1981 to
17 develop programs to assist Pennsylvanians in purchasing homes of
1 their own; and
2 WHEREAS, The General Assembly and the Governor, through the
3 passage of Act 91 of 1983, established the Homeowner's Emergency
4 Mortgage Assistance Program and directed the Pennsylvania
5 Housing Finance Agency to establish a first-of-its-kind program
6 in the nation to assist citizens in danger of losing their homes
7 to foreclosure; and
8 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has financed
9 the construction and rehabilitation of 58,000 rental apartments
10 for families, older Pennsylvanians and Commonwealth citizens
11 with special needs; and
12 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has provided
13 mortgage financing to nearly 100,000 families, thereby allowing
14 them to buy homes of their own; and
15 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has provided
16 critical monetary assistance to help 29,000 families avoid
17 foreclosure and rebuild their lives; and
18 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has raised
19 more than $7 billion from private investors throughout the
20 United States and has contributed an additional $200 million of
21 its earnings to make Pennsylvania a better place to live; and
22 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, because of
23 sustained excellent performance, became the first state housing
24 agency in the nation to be awarded "Top Tier" status by Standard
25 and Poor's, indicating superior acceptance of its securities in
26 the marketplace; and
27 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency continues to
28 serve Commonwealth citizens and contribute to the State's
29 economic and community development efforts through new programs
30 designed to curb urban blight, preserve decent rental
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1 properties, provide auxiliary structures for services in
2 neighborhoods, promote land use planning, oversee the proper
3 administration of Federal rental subsidies and other efforts
4 which have enriched this Commonwealth; therefore be it
5 RESOLVED, That the Senate commemorate the work and
6 accomplishments of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency on
7 the occasion of its 30th anniversary.
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