[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 134 (Thursday, September 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               AMENDING STEWART B. McKINNEY HOMELESS ACT

                                 ______


                            HON. JANE HARMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 1994

  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation today to 
provide for greater community involvement under the Stewart B. McKinney 
Homeless Act.
  More specifically, my bill seeks to amend the McKinney Act to ensure 
that local residents are fully notified and engaged in the process of 
meeting the needs of a community's homeless population. Equally 
important, it requires the Department of Health and Human Services to 
monitor whether approved providers maintain the necessary financial 
resources to deliver the services they have promised to offer.
  Mr. Speaker, before proceeding further let me note that this 
legislation is based on the recommendations of the California Military 
Base Task Force appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson and the San Pedro Area 
Reuse Committee, a volunteer task force consisting of 36 residents in 
the San Pedro community. I want to acknowledge both of these groups for 
their tireless efforts to identify solutions to some very troubling 
issues that have arisen at the Navy's surplus housing site on Taper 
Avenue and at military sites throughout the Nation.
  This legislation, I should note, has been endorsed by Los Angeles 
Mayor Richard Riordan as well as Governor Wilson.
  On July 22, the House of Representatives passed legislation that 
makes a community's redevelopment authority the driving force in 
developing an operation plan for surplus housing at a military 
facility. I was proud to support that legislation, and I hope the 
Senate will move quickly on its housing reauthorization bill and adopt 
similar language.
  The House language provides for the Department of Defense to complete 
a Federal screening process of properties. DOD then notifies the local 
redevelopment authority of the remaining properties and publishes that 
list in the Federal Register. The local redevelopment authority has 1 
year to develop a reuse plan that must address the needs of the 
homeless in that community. At this point, the redevelopment authority 
submits its plan to DOD and the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development. DOD uses this plan as the preferred alternative for 
disposal of property unless HUD--within 30 days--determines that the 
plan does not meet the needs of the homeless. If HUD deems the plan 
unsuitable for the homeless, it must provide a written explanation to 
both DOD and the local reuse authority. In this case, the local reuse 
committee is granted an additional 6 months to address HUD's concerns. 
If the final plan is again found inadequate, HUD begins screening the 
properties under the McKinney Act guidelines.

  Mr. Speaker, my legislation builds on this process in two ways. 
First, it improves the process by which communities are notified that 
military housing has been listed in the Federal Register. Residents in 
my district learned that an 18-acre Navy housing parcel in San Pedro 
had been listed as surplus only after HHS had approved an application 
to take over the site.
  Under my bill, such a scenario would not be repeated. My bill 
provides that HUD notify local, State, and congressional 
representatives by registered mail that a property in their area has 
been listed in the Federal Register. Notice also must be printed in 
those newspapers that maintain a sizable readership in the vicinity of 
a surplus housing facility.
  My legislation also ensures that important safeguards occur in the 
event that HUD determines that military surplus housing is required to 
meet the needs of a community's homeless population.
  Under current law, once the McKinney law takes effect, HHS is under 
no obligation to certify that an approved provider maintains the 
necessary financial resources to implement its homeless housing 
program. This lack of regulatory oversight is a serious problem and one 
that can result in an unqualified and under-financed provider being 
awarded a surplus housing contract.
  Mr. Speaker, my legislation addresses this problem by insisting that 
applications for a facility include the following information:
  Evidence that use of the building or property is intended to meet the 
needs of the homeless in the region in which the installation is 
located;
  A description of the homeless in the region who might reasonably be 
expected to use the building or property;
  Certification that the building or property requested is the minimum 
necessary to meet the needs of the homeless in the region;
  A description of the types and cost of any building upgrades that are 
necessary to use the building or property as proposed and the source of 
funding for such upgrades; and
  A demonstration of the financial capability of the applicant to carry 
out its proposal through proof of adequate resource availability and 
evidence of previous successful experience with comparable programs.
  Finally, my legislation insists that if competing applications are 
received for the same building or property located at the military 
installation to be closed, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall approve the application that proposes the longer term use of the 
building or property. This provision, I believe, will promote more 
adequate investment and facility renovation.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe my legislation builds on the process that the 
House of Representatives has begun of ensuring greater community 
involvement with the McKinney process. It does not lose sight of the 
central goal of the McKinney process: addressing the plight of 
America's homeless. But it insists that this end is best achieved by 
gaining community consensus and ensuring that the groups charged with 
homeless care are able to meet their responsibilities.

                          ____________________