Bush Unveils Program to Increase Home Ownership

In a ceremony Tuesday with the look and feel of a Democratic political rally, apparent Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush unveiled the latest in a series of proposals to boost home ownership for the working poor.

Flanked by a half-dozen homeowners in a low-income neighborhood, the Texas governor announced a $1.7-billion tax credit program designed to encourage the construction of 100,000 homes over the next five years for low-income occupants.

“Part of the American dream is to own your own home,” Bush said as he stood before a modest yellow frame home in a neighborhood of empty lots and crumbling houses in this political battleground state. “Part of the American dream is to say this place is mine.”

The new program would create about 20,000 homes nationwide per year over the next five years. It follows recent proposals announced last week that amount to a $3.7-billion financial assistance package to help about 750,000 needy families obtain housing during the next five years.

By embracing typically Democratic issues like health care, housing and education, as he has for weeks, Bush is appealing to the swing voters turned off by the hard-core conservatism he displayed during the primary.

In a decision that could further soften his image, Bush said Tuesday that he plans to quiz his former rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, about his willingness to be considered a vice presidential candidate. The two men have scheduled a long-awaited meeting on May 9.

Bush made his unprompted comment during a news conference in Michigan, where a huge following of independent voters propelled McCain to a primary victory over Bush in February.

A recent poll showed Bush and Vice President Al Gore running almost even in the state, 43% to 42%, with a 4-percentage-point margin of error.

Standing by Michigan Gov. John Engler, a frequently mentioned vice presidential candidate until he failed to deliver victory in Michigan’s GOP primary, Bush stressed that he had no “short list” of candidates but wanted to explore McCain’s steadfast rejection of a vice presidential bid.

“I’ll give John McCain consideration,” Bush said. “He’s been pretty outspoken about his opinions. I really want to look him in the eye and visit with him.”

A top McCain aide said McCain had not changed his mind and would rebuff any entreaty by Bush. The aide said there is no agenda for the meeting but the senator wants “to discuss the tone” of the campaign against McCain in South Carolina.

Bush’s housing proposal would offer an incentive for developers to build low-income housing by providing up to half the cost of construction for homes occupied by those making less than 80% of the area’s median income. He would also provide incentives for housing development in areas where the population earns an average of less than 80% of the area’s median income.

Low-income housing advocates praised the idea behind the program but said it would barely make a dent in the estimated 5.4-million families in severe need of affordable housing.

“It doesn’t begin to touch the serious problem in the United States,” said Sheila Crowley, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit housing advocacy group.

A spokesman for Gore immediately criticized the program, pointing to Bush’s record on housing in Texas, which is experiencing an all-time high of low-income people in need of housing, according to Texas housing advocates. They also noted that several Bush appointees to the board overseeing the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs are under FBI investigation in an alleged bribery case.

Gore wants to expand an existing tax credit program that would allow the construction of either rental homes or homes for ownership. He would provide an additional $5.7 billion over 10 years to create 180,000 homes.

Bush’s plan “sounds like a nice idea, but he hasn’t said how he’s going to pay for it or his other promises,” said Doug Hattaway, a Gore spokesman.

Bush said home ownership in Texas has increased while he has been governor, from 59% in 1994 to 63% last year--though it still is below the national average of 67%. And he said the state’s housing department has provided about 8,600 new homes for low-income families in the last two years.

To highlight his new housing program, Bush journeyed to meet Oberrion Gibson, a 67-year-old health care worker in Battle Creek who had her aging home torn down last fall to make way for a new one.

Gibson got a low-interest housing loan last year from Neighborhoods Inc., a nonprofit group that would benefit from Bush’s proposed tax credits.

Bush also got bad news Tuesday, when the Federal Election Commission dismissed his campaign’s complaint against a Web site offering satirical commentary on Bush. FEC officials said the Web site, https://www.gwbush.com, did not violate federal election laws, since it was not acting as a political committee.

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Times wire services contributed to this story.