[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 1, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S10267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         VA-HUD APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, one of the pleasures and honors I have in 
this body is to serve as the chairman of the appropriations 
subcommittee that funds veterans' programs, housing, as well as 
environment, space, science, and emergency management.
  On the veterans side, we have a very heavy responsibility to the 
people who, in my State and throughout the country, have been willing 
to put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, and I think 
they deserve the best that we can give them. That is why in past years, 
I have been very disappointed and troubled at this administration's 
approach to funding for veterans' medical care. Quite frankly, they 
were willing to sacrifice these important programs, at least on paper, 
in order to pretend that they were reaching a balanced budget. I think 
that is just plain wrong.
  I was also disappointed earlier this spring when the President and 
the congressional leadership proposed to take $300 million out of 
veterans' medical care as a part of the budget agreement. I said at the 
time that we would not let that happen.
  I am pleased to report that last night in a bipartisan, bicameral 
session, the Senate and House negotiators on both sides, Democrats and 
Republicans, approved a measure that provides more funding than the 
President, more funding than the budget agreement for veterans' medical 
care. The conference agreement that we hope will soon be signed into 
law provides $17 billion next year for medical care for veterans. This 
level of funding ensures that we keep our promise of continued care to 
all eligible veterans.

  We will also be able to continue our efforts to improve the VA 
medical system, which has been under great stress and which we hope is 
making progress toward more efficient, more effective, more humane care 
and treatment for our veterans who need care.
  It is sometimes easy during peace and prosperity to forget 
temporarily the promises that we as a country have made to those 
veterans who were willing to risk their lives to protect us. I said 
throughout this budget process I did not intend to let us forget, and I 
hope we will move quickly to send this bill to the President.
  In addition to the tough battles we fought in the veterans' medical 
care area and the difficult decisions we made, we had to make some 
tough decisions and take some difficult actions with respect to 
housing. Over the last several weeks, many elderly residents in public 
housing complexes in Missouri and I am sure in other States represented 
in this body, have expressed their deep concern about the possibility 
of their housing subsidies being ended.
  HUD was required by law and did send notices to thousands of senior 
citizens across the country over the last few months telling them that 
their rent subsidies were scheduled to expire this fall. That is 
required by law. But for most of the seniors who received the notices, 
it is very frightening because it threatens to tell most of them they 
will no longer be able to afford their homes and will be forced to 
move.
  I visited residences of complexes in St. Louis and Springfield, MO, 
and listened as the residents described their fears about losing their 
rent subsidies. I told them I would do everything in my power to help 
them stay in their homes.
  I am pleased to announce once again that last night the House-Senate 
conference agreed to provisions that we crafted, that I crafted to 
protect elderly housing. During the years I have spent as a member of 
the Senate Banking Committee and now as chairman of the VA, HUD, and 
Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I made preservation 
of affordable, low-income housing, especially for seniors, for the 
elderly, a top priority and a long-term commitment.
  Unlike the administration which, for some reason, continues to 
emphasize the possibility of vouchers as a one-size-fits-all approach 
to housing needs of low-income families and the elderly, I believe that 
elderly housing complexes, which are good, safe places, comfortable for 
the elderly residents, should be maintained. Frankly, it is terrifying 
to seniors who may have lived 10 to 15 to 20 years in the same housing 
complex to tell them suddenly they must move: ``Here is a voucher, go 
out and pound the pavement and try to find housing.''
  Mr. President, if you have visited these complexes, and I am sure you 
have them in your State as we have them in all of our States, all you 
have to do is go into one of those complexes and meet with the 
residents, many of them in walkers, using canes, in wheelchairs and 
think just a minute of giving those people vouchers and asking them to 
go out and look for housing. What a ridiculous thought that is. We are 
not going to force them to go out and look for housing.
  How many of us who have parents and grandparents or other relatives 
in elderly housing complexes want to see them torn away from their 
communities and forced to find new housing? I really believe that 
seniors should be treated differently from young persons eligible for 
subsidized housing.
  While the trend in recent years has been to provide vouchers for 
recipients to use for housing of their choice in a variety of 
neighborhoods, many seniors--most of whom I talked to--prefer to remain 
in senior-only housing complexes. I think it makes sense for them to 
remain in communities where they have grown accustomed to living and 
have made friends and feel comfortable.
  As chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee, I included 
language in the HUD-VA bill that was agreed to last night which does 
allow these seniors to remain in their homes, to remain in their 
complexes. Specifically, we provided for the renewal of project-based 
section 8 contracts at a rate affordable to the elderly.
  Good, affordable elderly housing, more than just an example of a 
successful private-public partnership, is a community of people who 
live together and care about each other. We cannot afford to lose this 
type of housing. We cannot afford to lose the type of community this 
housing represents.
  Washington sometimes loses sight of people and the importance of 
local communities. But I do not plan to let Washington lose sight of 
these elderly housing communities or the people who live in them now or 
in the future.
  Mr. President, I thank the Chair. I yield the floor and suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Santorum). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I will use my leader time to make a 
statement on a couple of issues.

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