[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     IMPROVEMENTS TO PUBLIC HOUSING

                                 ______


                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 23, 1994

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation making 
much needed improvements to our public housing and related housing 
programs.
  Many of these provisions were requested by the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development last year but were not acted on by the Banking 
Committee. Many of these provisions also have the support of the public 
housing industry as well.
  Mr. Speaker, there are over 3,100 public housing authorities 
throughout the Nation providing critically needed affordable housing to 
well over 100,000 low- and moderate-income families, elderly persons 
and those who are handicapped. Most of these authorities are doing a 
very good job and are providing the safe, decent, and affordable 
housing the law requires.
  However, there are a small group of housing authorities who are faced 
with such overwhelming problems as crime, drugs, deteriorating 
developments, poor location, few job opportunities for their residents, 
and excessive vacancies which has resulted in the negative reputation 
accorded public housing in general. Regrettably, some of these PHA's 
are just not up to the task of running a successful public housing 
program.
  My legislation is intended to help eliminate some of the problems 
which may contribute to the difficulties many PHA's have in running 
their developments.
  Specifically, my legislation makes several technical changes to 
existing programs in order to achieve efficiencies and addresses five 
major issues. These include:


                   severely distressed public housing

  In the 1992 Housing Act, our committee created the Severely 
Distressed Public Housing Program (aimed at providing funds to clean up 
the worst public housing projects). While the committee was waiting to 
finish that bill (October), the Appropriations Committee funded a 
similar program called Urban Revitalization Program. However, the 
appropriations bill required that the provisions of the two initiatives 
be conformed. This provision does that. Specifically, the legislation:
  Requires applicants to propose community service as part of the 
revitalization effort; and
  Eliminates the requirement to publish a list of severely distressed 
projects;
  Clarifies replacement rules to allow section 8 assistance rather than 
new units in certain circumstances;
  Raises the cap on amount of funds which can be used for support 
services from 15 percent to 20 percent; and
  Eliminates the requirement that grant awards be made on a geographic 
basis.


                          income disallowance

  Under current law, a public housing tenant pays a rent based on 30 
percent of his/her earned income. So, when a public housing resident 
moves from welfare to work, their rent immediately increases. This has 
often provided a disincentive to work. This section would allow the PHA 
to either deduct 20 percent of the earned income for purposes of the 
rent calculation or freeze the families current rent for 18 months as 
incentives for encouraging work. The legislation also allows the PHA to 
discount part of the salary earned by a dependent who lives in the same 
unit. This would eliminate the penalty for a family who has a son or 
daughter who secures employment to help the family survive.


                             ceiling rents

  Because of the location or condition of some public housing, the 30 
percent of income rule may actually result in a family paying rent in 
excess of the actual value of the apartment thus forcing the family--
especially working families--to seek better living accommodations. The 
result is often an increase in vacancy rates or occupancy by a 
nonworking family which requires additional Federal subsidy. My 
provision would allow the PHA to set rents based on the market value of 
the apartment in order to allow working families to remain in their 
public housing apartment.


                 streamline public housing development

  This provision would attempt to streamline public housing development 
by giving PHA's more flexibility in the type, size, location, and 
design of the units they are developing or replacing. It would 
eliminate current unrealistic cost limits; would allow PHA's to use 
non-Federal funds for development amenities without reducing the 
overall grant they would receive; it allows PHA's to build to local 
neighborhood standards and to use local housing codes. The provision 
would also allow the PHA to change the development plan after receiving 
a grant without going back through the HUD approval process. And 
finally, it would provide the PHA an incentive for achieving cost 
savings by allowing the PHA to share 50 percent of any savings 
generated by efficient and timely development of units.


                        payment in lieu of taxes

  Currently, public housing developments are not assessed a local 
property tax. In lieu of this, the PHA and the local unit of government 
negotiate an amount of payment to be made by the PHA for services such 
as education of the children in the development, refuse collection and 
police protection. However, the payment is based on a formula which 
takes a percentage of the actual rents collected by the PHA. In many 
areas of the country, the rents paid by the tenants are so low that the 
payment made to the local government is almost negligible. My provision 
would not change the formula currently in use but it would require a 
minimum payment for each unit occupied by a family in a public housing 
development.
  Mr. Speaker, these proposed changes to the operation of public 
housing represent modest but sensible changes to the way we do 
business. All of them represent improvements designed to enhance the 
efficiency and effectiveness of our Federal housing programs.

                          ____________________