Remarks Urging Prompt Congressional Action on Housing Finance Legislation.

Ladies and gentlemen:

On February 2 I sent to the Congress a message asking for enactment of the Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970. You will note that I described this as the "Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970."

Four months have passed and the Congress has as yet failed to act. A bill has passed the Senate. It now is tied up in the House Rules Committee. We are hopeful that next week the House Rules Committee will act and that the House itself may act.

In presenting Secretary Romney to you today, I should point out that he recommended to me 4 months ago that this legislation be sent to the Congress. He then said that there was an emergency insofar as housing finance was concerned.

For 4 months on this emergency legislation there has been no action and now we have what I would describe as a crisis insofar as financing for housing needed by hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

It is time to act, even at this late date. Secretary Romney has talked to me on several occasions since February 2, urging action. He will be glad to answer your questions with regard to the provisions of the legislation, what we hope it will accomplish, even at this late date.

We hope that the Emergency Act of 4 months ago now will become legislation within the next 2 weeks or so, as it well might.