Former Senator and HUD Secretary Mel Martinez and the Bipartisan Policy Center to Host Public Forum in Orlando on Housing in America April 17, 2012: Innovative Solutions to Address the Needs of Tomorrow

New Research Shows U.S. Housing Finance System is More Complex than other Countries but Offers More Opportunities for Consumers

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Housing Commission and the Jack Kemp Foundation will jointly host a timely public housing forum in Orlando on Tuesday, April 17 at Rollins College. The forum will feature former Florida Senator and Secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Mel Martinez, a co-chair of BPC's Housing Commission, as well as leading local housing experts and residents, to discuss the pressures on Florida's housing market and the state's response to the situation.

At the forum new research will be released that highlights the complexities and opportunities of the U.S. housing finance system compared to other countries around the world. The paper focuses on how housing markets work, how different types of housing institutions and regulatory structures may have contributed to the housing boom and bust, and if these examples might inform housing policy moving forward.

This event is the second regional forum of the Washington, D.C.-based BPC's new Housing Commission. Launched in October 2011, the Commission aims to reform the nation's housing policy by crafting realistic and actionable policy recommendations that consider the near-term and long-term challenges in the housing sector. Throughout 2012, the Commission will visit different regions of the country to hear first-hand from stakeholders and interest groups about the housing challenges affecting its citizens.

Forum Agenda:

8:00AM-8:30AM    
Breakfast and Registration

8:30AM-9:00AM    
Opening Remarks

• Senator Mel Martinez, Co-Chair, BPC's Housing Commission; former Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Mayor Theresa Jacobs, Orange County (invited)

9:00AM-10:00AM  
Panel Discussion: A Global and Local Look at U.S. Housing Policy

New research to be released that highlights the complexities and opportunities of the U.S. housing finance system compared to other countries around the world and the importance and impact of local characteristics of housing markets

• Moderator: Richard Smith, BPC Housing Commissioner; President and CEO, Realogy Corporation
• Dr. Cynthia Kroll, University of California Berkeley, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics
• Dr. Ashok Bardhan, University of California Berkeley; Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics
• Dr. Sean Snaith, University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Competitiveness

10:00AM-10:15AM   
Break

10:15AM-11:45AM   
Open Public Forum: Leaders from local organizations and companies involved in the Florida housing sector to speak before Commission and general public about local housing developments

Introduction: Carin Barth, BPC Housing Commission; Co-Founder and President, LB Capital, Inc.

Moderator: Ed Brady, BPC Housing Commissioner; President, Brady Homes Leaders

11:45AM-12:00PM   
Closing Remarks

Senator Mel Martinez, Co-Chair, BPC Housing Commission

What:                     
Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission's Second Regional Forum in Partnership with Jack Kemp Foundation to Discuss Florida's Housing Market and New Research on America's Housing Finance System within a Global and Local Context

When:                    
Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 8:00AM-12:00PM

Where:                 
Rollins College
Bush Auditorium
1000 Holt Avenue
Orlando, Florida 32789

(Parking for attendees will be available in the Sun Trust Parking Garage.)

***Site Tour- Monday, April 16 at 2:30PM- Senator Mel Martinez and fellow BPC Housing Commissioners will tour The Villas at Carver Park, which includes 64 one-bedroom units for the elderly, with Orlando Housing Authority President Vivian Bryant. The tour will explain how the development, located in Orlando's Parramore neighborhood, was transformed with the help of an $18 million federal housing grant through the HOPE VI program. Senator Martinez authorized funding for Carver Park in 2002 when he was HUD Secretary. The HOPE VI program was created in 1992 and administered by HUD to rejuvenate the worst housing projects in America into mixed-income developments. The reason for this visit is to see the value of the HOPE VI program and how more communities could benefit from similar comprehensive neighborhood revitalization programs, including the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, which is the successor to HOPE VI.

About the Bipartisan Policy Center
Founded in 2007 by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a non-profit organization that drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation and respectful dialogue.  With projects in multiple issue areas, BPC combines politically balanced policymaking with strong, proactive advocacy and outreach. http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/

SOURCE Bipartisan Policy Center

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