By Eugene T. Lowe
March 28, 2005

Henry Cisneros and Jack Kemp received an award March 17 for their effort to create a bipartisan national housing agenda from Search for Common Ground, the world's largest non- governmental organization dedicated to conflict resolution. The 2005 Common Grounds Award was presented at the Austrian Embassy in Washington (DC).

John Marks, President and Founder of Search for Common Ground said the award "acknowledges outstanding people who, through their unique and individual approach, have taken the task of finding common ground to new heights. We celebrate the courage, strength of spirit, and resolve they have brought to the transformation of conflicts at the international, national, and community levels."

The two former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretaries, along with Kent Colton, former Chief Executive of the National Association of Home Builders, and Nicolas Retsinas, Director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, published the bipartisan housing agenda in a book called "Opportunity and Progress: A Bipartisan Platform for National Housing Policy." Kemp and Colton are Republicans and Cisneros and Retsinas are Democrats. The purpose of the book is to overcome partisan sentiments and to look at the issue of housing in thoughtful way. The book outlines 12 recommendations that will preserve, expand, or reform existing housing programs.

Cisneros presented the recommendations of the book to the mayors at the Conference of Mayors 73rd Winter Meeting in January. Prior to the release of the book, he wrote, "The modern day zeal for partisanship is counterproductive, often acrimoniously so. When we have achieved successful housing programs in the past, it was the result of bipartisan compromise."

Kemp said of the bipartisan effort: "From out beginning as a nation, we have defined progress by articulating a vision of what we yearn to be — and acting on it. Our actions in support of housing opportunity and home ownership will help mark our progress as a nation. The synthesis of the right and left is available and in front of our eyes."