American Dream Downpayment Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on June 19, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
American Dream Downpayment Act - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to participating jurisdictions for single family residential downpayment assistance to: (1) low-income or first-time home buyers; or (2) income-qualifying uniformed employees (police, fire, sanitation and maintenance) or teachers of a participating jurisdiction.
Requires a participating jurisdiction to include in its comprehensive housing affordability strategy information regarding: (1) grant use; (2) outreach activities; and (3) activities to ensure the suitability of recipient families to maintain homeownership.
Sets forth allocation criteria. Permits fund reallocation.
Authorizes specified FY 2004 and 2005 appropriations.
Makes the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 inapplicable to such assistance.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on October 1, 2003. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 2, 2003: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Katherine Harris (R-FL) introduced it on March 13, 2003, and 95 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 27 Democrats, 68 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 13, 2003, 8582 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8379 days ago, on October 2, 2003.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers