In 2001 the Guam Housing Corporation was experiencing financial difficulties. The Government of Guam entity was just over $14 million in the hole when the ever-generous General Fund came to its rescue. While the GHC still has trouble marketing against banking institutions that may be able to offer lower interest rates, they have been able to generate positive returns.
Public Auditor Doris Flores Brooks noted the Corporation as having an increase in net earnings of about $963,000, adding, "And they continue to show profits over the last couple of years. This is really a good improvement over what it was over five years ago. Back in 2001 they had about a $2 million loss, they were almost in default of some of the bond covenants, they weren't able to make loans. So they've gone over a major restructuring in the last four years and now they're doing well."
Last fiscal year the GHC loaned out $2 million to get homeowners started, and this fiscal year they expect to use the same amount as a last resort lending institution. Now that the entity has over $13 million in cash the Public Auditor suggested it might be time to repeal the law. Said Brooks, "The General Fund had money at that time to forgive alright, now the General Fund has no money. If Guam Housing was in trouble today, there would be no way they would have forgiven the loan, you see the difference now - it's the timing. So maybe it's time for this entity to cough up. It would have to be a policy decision on the part of the Legislature and the governor to say, yes, we need it now."
Republican senator and chairman of the Aviation, Federal Affairs, Labor, Housing, Banking and Insurance Committee, Jesse Anderson Lujan, on the other hand doesn't see eye to eye with the Public Auditor. "For us to go in there and pilfer that money to pay for the operations of the Government of Guam is a dereliction of our duty, is a dereliction of the governor's duty, it's derelict of the Public Auditor to even suggest that. Guam Housing Corporation was in the red years ago, we gave them money to get it together to fix the ills of that agency. They have since fixed it, the Public Auditor came out with a clean bill of health for Guam Housing Corporation, they're lending to people, they're healthy. This government has to downsize itself, the governor needs to look at his agencies that he needs to downsize - he needs to cut his budget in half in order to have prosperity in our island."
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