[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1794-E1795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HOMES OVER TAX CUTS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 5, 1999

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I am protesting this rule because it's 
the first step in ripping off the roof over people's heads.
  That's what we are doing when we cut the HUD budget. Some people will 
argue that cutting the budget is good government. They will argue that 
we are reducing wasteful government spending. But this isn't just some 
government program. It's a roof over people's heads. When we cut this 
program, we are taking away some senior's rent money. We are throwing 
families out of their homes. We are denying people on fixed and low 
incomes the safety and security of an affordable home.
  One of those government programs is the Section 8 program. HUD has 
contracted with private landlords to provide affordable apartments to 
people on fixed and low incomes. Over 500,000 of those apartments will 
come up for renewal in the next five years. If we don't renew those 
contracts, landlords will leave the program, raise their rents and 
evict hundreds of thousands of people on fixed and low incomes.
  This is a terrible thing and we know it. Last March, we cut $350 
million from the Section 8 program to pay for non-emergency spending in 
Kosovo. But both the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the 
Chairman of the VA-HUD Appropriations subcommittee promised to put it 
back if they could because they know that it is money well spent. If we 
have the money, we ought to use it to give people a safe home so they 
can go to work and their children can go to school and they all can be 
productive citizens.
  Well, we can put the $350 million back if we don't give $800 billion 
to wealthy special interest in the form of an irresponsible tax cut. 
And we should put in an extra $1 billion that the President has 
requested because 500,000 households are depending on us.
  This money is well spent. It's money for local governments to attract 
jobs. It's money for services for seniors and persons with disabilities 
so that they can live their lives with some comfort. It's money for 
secure families. People deserve this from us and we ought to give it to 
them. Oppose this rule, because it's the first step in ripping off the 
roof over people's heads.

              Fully Fund Housing and Community Development

                                               National Low Income


                                            Housing Coalition,

                                   Washington, DC, August 3, 1999.
     Hon. Janice Schakowsky,
     House of Representatives,
     Cannon Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Schakowsky: This year marks the 50th 
     anniversary of the Housing Act of 1949, in which Congress 
     declared

[[Page E1795]]

     the national goal of a decent home and a suitable living 
     environment for every American family. We believe, as do most 
     Americans, that this nation is capable of achieving this 
     worthy goal.
       However, we have a long way to go. Even while most 
     Americans are thriving in our remarkably healthy economy, 
     many families still struggle with excessive housing costs and 
     insufficient income to meet basic needs. Over 9,000,000 very 
     low income households pay more than half of their income for 
     housing. The 1999 report by the Joint Center for Housing 
     Studies at Harvard, The State of the Nation's Housing, 
     clearly documents the paradox of record accomplishments in 
     housing production and home ownership while rents are 
     increasing faster than wages. Nowhere in the country can a 
     household with one full time minimum wage earner afford basic 
     housing costs. Families who apply for housing assistance wait 
     longer than they ever have before, and in many communities, 
     waiting lists are closed indefinitely.
       We believe that a time when we are celebrating bountiful 
     budget surpluses is also the time to address our severe 
     national shortage of affordable housing. This can best be 
     done by strengthening the proven federal housing and 
     community development programs that lift up low-income 
     Americans. There is ample evidence that housing assistance 
     helps low income families gain the housing stability that is 
     necessary for family members to succeed at work and in 
     school.
       Unfortunately, the action of the House Appropriations 
     Committee last week weakens our housing and community 
     development programs. Rather than building on the success of 
     our economy by extending its rewards to more and more people, 
     the Committee moved us backwards by failing to fully fund the 
     President's FY2000 HUD budget request. The bill cuts CDBG, 
     HOME, HOPWA, Public Housing Operating Fund, and Homeless 
     Assistance, among others, and does not fund a single new 
     housing voucher.
       We find it inconceivable that in this period of 
     extraordinary economic prosperity that Congress continues to 
     purport that we are unable to fund modest expansions of 
     programs that improve the housing and economic opportunities 
     of low wage earners and people on fixed incomes. The 
     substantial tax cuts that are under consideration in the 
     House will not improve the housing circumstances of low 
     income people, but more housing assistance will.
       We urge you to vote against the HUD-VA-IA Appropriations 
     bill when it comes to the full House. We are capable of doing 
     much better.
           Sincerely,
         ACORN, AFSCME, AIDS Policy Center for Children, Youth and 
           Families, Alliance for Children and Families, Campaign 
           for America's Future, Center for Community Change, 
           Child Welfare League of America, Children's Defense 
           Fund, Children's Foundation, Coalition on Human Needs, 
           Development Training Institute, Employment Support 
           Center, Feminist Majority, Friends Committee on 
           National Legislation (Quaker), International 
           Brotherhood of Teamsters, Jesuit Conference, Lawyers' 
           Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Leadership 
           Conference on Civil Rights, Lutheran Services in 
           America, McAuley Institute, Mennonite Central Committee 
           U.S., Washington Office, NAACP, National Alliance to 
           End Homelessness.
         National Association of Child Advocates, National 
           Association of Housing Cooperatives, National 
           Association of School Psychologists, National Center on 
           Poverty Law Inc., National Coalition for the Homeless, 
           National Council of Churches, National Council of 
           Jewish Women, National Council of Senior Citizens, 
           National Housing Law Project, National Housing Trust, 
           National League of Cities, National Low Income Housing 
           Coalition, National Ministries, American Baptist 
           Churches, USA, National Neighborhood Coalition, 
           National Network for Youth, National Puerto Rican 
           Coalition, National Rural Housing Coalition, National 
           Urban League, Neighbor to Neighbor, Network, A National 
           Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Preamble Center, Public 
           Housing Authorities Directors Association, Surface 
           Transportation Policy Project, Unitarian Universalist 
           Affordable Housing Corporation, United Church of 
           Christ, Office of Church in Society, U.S. Conference of 
           Mayors, Volunteers of America.

           

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