[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 35 (Tuesday, March 18, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S2427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FAIRCLOTH (for himself, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Warner, Mr. Lugar, 
        Mr. Shelby, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Craig, Mr. Enzi and 
        Mr. Hagel):
  S. 458. A bill to provide for State housing occupancy standards, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.


                       THE HOUSING PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce today a bill 
to protect housing. This bill will ensure that all residents have a 
peaceful, well-maintained, and managed community with the services they 
deserve.
  The Housing Protection Act prohibits the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development [HUD] from establishing a national occupancy standard 
and transfers the authority to set those standards to the States. In 
the absence of a State standard, a two-person-per-bedroom standard 
would be presumed reasonable.
  In 1995, Senator Kyl and I introduced this same piece of legislation, 
after HUD's General Counsel Nelson Diaz issued a memorandum which, in 
effect, attempted to supplant the reasonable two-person-per-bedroom 
standard with conditions which could have forced housing owners to 
accept six, seven, even eight people in a two-bedroom apartment. The 
House of Representatives passed it as part of its public housing reform 
bill, but the bill failed to pass out of conference last year.
  Too often apartments are crowded with excessive numbers of people. 
When this happens, apartment complexes experience excessive noise, 
lower levels of safety and most often deterioration of the units. 
Building codes are in place for a reason. They are designed to 
determine the maximum amount of people who may safely exit a building 
during a fire or other emergency. Occupancy standards, on-the-other-
hand, determine how many residents can be accommodated and for whom 
they can properly provide services on the premises.
  The purpose of occupancy standards is to provide decent, safe, 
comfortable housing and a peaceful living environment for all 
residents. They also help maintain properties in excellent condition. 
While housing providers set their own occupancy standards, such private 
standards are in effect limited by state-set laws or policies which 
establish the minimum occupancy levels at which housing providers 
achieve safe harbor from charges of familial discrimination.
  This bill is widely supported by housing industry associations such 
as the National Association of Homebuilders and the National Apartment 
Association, among others. Many of our colleagues have joined us in 
support of this bill, and I urge others to consider cosponsoring it.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the State Housing 
Protection Act. I thank Senator Faircloth for his leadership on this 
issue and joining in sponsoring this bill. This bill prohibits the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] from enforcing a 
complaint of discrimination on the basis of a housing provider's 
occupancy standard, and thereby, transfers from HUD to the States the 
authority to set occupancy standards.
  Mr. President, in July 1995, HUD General Counsel Diaz issued a 
memorandum which, in effect, tried to supplant the traditional two-per-
bedroom occupancy standard, and could have forced housing owners to 
accept six, seven, eight, or even nine people in a two-bedroom 
apartment. HUD should not be establishing national occupancy standards.
  In 1995, Senator Faircloth and I blocked HUD from imposing national 
occupancy standards until it completed an official rule. Soon 
thereafter, along with Representative McCollum, we introduced our bill 
to permanently transfer authority back to the States. The House passed 
it as part of its public housing reform bill, but it died in the 
conference committee late last year.
  By pursuing a policy that encourages overcrowding, thereby 
depreciating housing stock that is scarce to begin with, HUD is poorly 
serving lower income families and defeating its own charter. Our bill 
will help correct the problem. It is supported by the Council for 
Affordable and Rural Housing, the Council of Larger Public Housing 
Authorities, the Multi Housing Institute, the National Apartment 
Association, the National Assisted Housing Management Association, the 
National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of 
Housing and Redevelopment Officials, the National Leased Housing 
Association, the National Multi Housing Council, and the Public Housing 
Authorities Directors Association.
  Several States have an occupancy standard; the one in my own home 
State of Arizona has worked well. The intrusion of a Federal 
bureaucracy often does more harm than good. That is why Senator 
Faircloth and I have reintroduced this bill. I urge my colleagues to 
join us and cosponsor it.
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