[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7549-H7555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 7, 2003, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk tonight about the Lee-
Capuano-Sanders discharge petition which is H.J. Res. 748. This
resolution requests immediate consideration of H.R. 1102, which is the
National Affordable Housing Construction Program, a trust fund, which
targets funding and resources to States and localities to assist people
in the most desperate need for affordable housing.
Mr. Speaker, today, many of us recognize that we do live in two
Americas, one for the wealthy and one for those who are struggling to
just make ends meet. We have families living in dilapidated rental
units, clutching to potentially meaningless section 8 vouchers, facing
the harsh realities of high-cost housing or homelessness; but we have
an opportunity here to make a real difference in the lives of people
who need just a bit of our help, people, families, children, men and
women.
We have an opportunity to help support families in their desire to
build intergenerational wealth for the future. At a time of State
budget crunches and shortfalls, we have an opportunity here to support
our States who want to build safer, more affordable quality communities
for our most vulnerable constituents.
Discharging H.R. 1102 under an open rule to the House floor would at
least allow us to debate the need for more affordable housing and show
where our national priorities really are. I know that our constituents
want us to authorize a national affordable housing trust fund because
it would construct 1.5 million affordable housing units over the next
decades.
The Center For Community Change estimates that a national affordable
housing trust fund would create 1.8 million, that is 1.8 million, new
jobs. That is nearly $50 billion in wages, good-paying jobs; and with
our economy the way it is right now, with people on the brink, with so
many layoffs, you cannot tell me that 1.8 million new jobs will not
make a difference in the lives of millions of people.
Mr. Speaker, just think of it, if this Congress invested a mere 5,
$5.1 billion, that is $5 billion, that is peanuts really, $5 billion
into affordable housing, of course instead of this never-ending war in
Iraq, if we did this, I mean, the war in Iraq now is upwards of $200
billion. If we just invested $5 billion into this trust fund, we could
commit at least $37 to $40 million to each State for housing, $200
billion again, Mr. Speaker, for Iraq. We should not even worry about $5
billion. We should be supporting this bill. We should move it forward
in this House. $5 billion, again as compared to $200 billion, that is
very minimal in terms of resources.
So this does not make any sense to me, why this bill has not come to
the floor for a debate, why we do not have a national housing trust
fund. Signing this discharge petition will help this tripartisan bill.
We have over 215 Members with the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders),
myself, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the gentleman
from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Capuano), and many, many cosponsors on both sides of the aisle, and the
gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), tripartisan.
If, in fact, we discharge this petition, we would really overcome
whatever political obstacles there are that have prevented this
realistic, sensible and targeted, affordable housing legislation from
coming before this Chamber.
It is my understanding that former Secretary Mel Martinez just said
he did not want it to come to this body, and that is what has happened.
214 cosponsors, I do not think it makes sense for us to allow a former
Secretary of HUD to dictate the legislation that comes to the body of
this House. This program can and will make a considerable difference in
the lives of our constituents.
Let me just tell my colleagues, over 5,000 organizations, unions,
working men and women, nonprofits, faith-based organizations,
individuals have endorsed this bill and are organizing grass-roots
support to really call their Members and ask them for their support and
why they are not supporting it, if they are not.
We recognize the cost and the hesitation that many Members had in
regard to using the FHA surplus, which was the way the bill was
initially written. So that is why, in order to garner additional
bipartisan support, we have revised the funding mechanism and asked
that the capable appropriators find the necessary $5 billion wherever
they deem appropriate. We have negotiated in good faith on this bill,
and it makes no sense for us now to be here pushing this discharge
petition as we are because of the fact that it has gone through
committee and that it should be debated on this floor.
{time} 2045
It should be authorized because it will provide housing to all, which
many of us feel, I know some may not believe this, but I believe that
housing should be a basic human right, and because of that, it
outweighs all of its cost.
So I encourage all Members to sign their names to the Lee-Sanders-
Capuano discharge petition, because together, we can build affordable
futures for families and thousands of children across this country. If
we work together for passage of this bill, we can prevent thousands of
our elderly and low-income families from choosing between food and
shelter. And in many instances, that is what is going on. If we work
together for passage of this bill, we can build safe havens through
affordable supportive housing instead of homeless shelters for women
fleeing domestic violence. If we work together for passage of this
bill, we can build more opportunities for home ownership and mixed-
income communities in rural and urban America.
Investing in H.J. Res. 748 means investing in a national affordable
housing trust fund and providing a greater
[[Page H7550]]
chance to realize the American Dream for all Americans. Together, we
can bridge those two Americas into one prosperous land for all.
So I ask my colleagues, I plead with my colleagues, because we only
have about a week left here, to come to the House floor and sign this
petition. I am asking all of them to make a decision that reflects the
need for more affordable housing opportunities, for more jobs, and for
more State and local choices for housing and community development.
Mr. Speaker, I now wish to yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Jackson-Lee), who is a consistent fighter for children and families and
who also believes basic housing should be a human right for all.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished
gentlewoman for yielding to me and for her work and the work of her
colleagues on this important initiative. I am delighted to be an early
cosponsor of this legislation because it follows the needs of my
constituents in the Eighteenth Congressional District in Houston. We
have confronted in that district a number of housing dilemmas and
housing concerns.
The first one that comes to mind, of course, is the year-long work
that we had to participate in in order to overcome some obstacles in
restoring what we call the senior home repair program. There is not
much, probably, that sometimes Members have not seen because of their
travel to war zones and dealing with some of the conditions of their
constituents. We see tragedies of great moment because we are expected
as elected officials to be able to respond to those needs. But going
into inner-city areas and even to rural areas and sometimes seeing the
conditions that senior citizens live in, people who have worked their
whole lives but maybe as they have worked their income has not met
their ability to survive, with their health needs, their food needs and
their housing needs.
I spoke earlier today of constituents who live in burned-out homes;
half the home literally burned down because there were no public
resources to either repair the home or replace the home. The same with
homes that were in such bad condition that bucketloads of water would
come in when it rained. The wiring was in poor condition. There was no
ability to have air-conditioning. These are homes that people live in.
And, Mr. Speaker, what about the thousands of persons that are living
with family members or others? They call those individuals transients,
those who are living from place to place. These are individuals with
families. In fact, in our school district, we had a name for those
children that wound up either in different schools in the same school
year because their family had to move from place to place, or maybe
were living in a car and the car then fell upon disrepair and so they
had no place to go.
It is interesting that even in the richest country in the world that
we have this dilemma in housing. So the national housing trust fund
legislation is really long overdue, with 214 cosponsors. This is a bill
that we wanted to do in regular order, the Committee on Financial
Services, the members of that committee, the leaders of that committee,
the names we have called out. I believe the gentlewoman mentioned the
gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Lee), leading this special order this evening, the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Waters), and I saw the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Capuano). Those of us who joined eagerly to be cosponsors really
realize this is an opportunity that has been lost.
Even today, those that I know to be long-standing supporters across
party lines, such as Jack Kemp, who was with me in Houston a few months
ago, where we went to a complex of Habitat for Humanity and we were
able to build in Houston hundreds of homes. Homeowners contributed to
it. And we are very grateful for Habitat for Humanity and projects like
that, but that is not the total answer. We participated in that
project. It was related to the Super Bowl. And we are glad that we did
some constructive things that the NFL does, and we continue to work
with Habitat for Humanity and a number of other self-help programs, but
we cannot self-help ourselves across America in the enormous
deterioration of public housing in America.
There is an eagerness of those living in public housing to own their
own homes. And the HOME program, where we were giving equity and giving
down payments, is really on the ropes. The home repair program for
senior citizens is on the ropes. Why is it on the ropes? Because we are
not able to fund it the way we need to fund it. So today Jack Kemp, and
I might add Henry Cisneros, stood up to support the concept of a
national housing trust fund.
I believe that this really plays into the whole desire of every
American to have a better quality of life. We always go back to the
opening words of the Declaration of Independence because it was the
framework by which the Founding Fathers drafted our Constitution. It is
words we use very often. I do not know how they managed to capture such
brilliant language that fits all centuries, all years; that we all are
created equal. I always do a caveat that as they wrote it, they
obviously left out a large portion of those in America, claiming that
slaves were less than one person.
But the words were beautiful, they were meaningful, and they can be
carried and applicable to all. We are all created equal with certain
inalienable rights of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Mr. Speaker, in this Nation, the pursuit of happiness, I believe,
encompasses education, health care, and housing. A national housing
trust fund would construct, rehabilitate and preserve rental housing
for people with the very lowest incomes, as well as provide rental
housing and homeownership opportunities for those with incomes of up to
80 percent of area median income. This is important.
But besides the homeless, Mr. Speaker, there are some 25,000 people
on the waiting list in Houston for Section 8 housing. It is atrocious,
that list. They just stay on and on and on and on. The list does not
move. Throughout everyone's districts many people ask how they get on
the list, or why are they on the list so long; or how can they get
housing. The trust fund would use a dedicated source of revenue to
produce and rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million homes over the next
10 years.
Mr. Speaker, these would not be Republican homes, independent homes,
Democratic homes, or only urban homes, big city homes, or only central
city homes. These would be homes across the Nation. And when you travel
to districts that are rural, you can be assured that people need places
to live.
The trust fund will provide much-needed stimulus to our economy,
creating jobs and adding to the revenues of States and localities. An
investment of $5 billion in a national housing trust fund will result
in 1.8 million new jobs and $50 billion in wages.
One of the things I think we never think about when we think about
housing, like when we got Federal funds to help rehabilitate my public
housing, housing developments as the residents there like to call it, I
added an amendment that year for Houston and other public housing
projects to use the residents of public housing to work on the
rehabilitation project; to use them to be carpenters and plumbers and
electricians, those who lived inside those housing developments.
Because they would be getting skills and getting income.
This is a clear win-win situation. New jobs and $50 billion in wages.
Who knows, those people working on this housing could then elevate
themselves to the middle class and then buy their housing. This is a
positive, positive, positive stroke of genius.
The lack of adequate housing hurts children now and in the future.
Poor housing circumstances have been linked to poor educational
performance and poor health. Children with unstable housing situations
have unstable schooling. A review of the research on high-classroom
turnover shows the highly detrimental effects of changing schools on
educational outcomes. Other research shows that children living in
substandard housing have increased chances of lead poisoning and
asthma, while high-housing costs leads to child malnutrition as
families choose between food and rent.
[[Page H7551]]
When I worked with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my district, but
particularly Fannie Mae, where we have an office, to see the looks on
the faces of those who were getting homes, and when we had the ribbon-
cutting ceremonies and the children went into their own bedrooms, what
a difference their own bedroom made. That is why the national housing
trust fund is so very important. It helps people with the lowest income
face the greatest difficulty, which is finding housing that is
available and affordable. For people across the income spectrum who are
experiencing housing affordability deficits, this is what this is all
about.
Mr. Speaker, I cannot imagine that we would want to keep 4.8 million
low- to moderate-income working families earning between the full-time
minimum wage and 120 percent of area median income without housing.
There is a critical housing shortage for them.
The lack of affordable housing hurts elderly people and people with
disabilities. The national vacancy rate does not capture the market
failure in affordable housing. Because we do not have the affordable
housing units, we lose out on the people who are able to buy those
houses.
It is ridiculous, Mr. Speaker. A $150,000 or $200,000 home may seem
affordable to those who are working for dollars way above that of
individuals needing to get the kind of housing that is affordable. In
light of the Nation's housing crisis, the national housing trust fund
is a moral imperative and national resources should be used to combat
this.
Let me just say that I spoke earlier today on the floor asking for a
plan in order to help us move swiftly in rebuilding Iraq and returning
our soldiers home with valor and ceasing the violence. We are spending
$5 billion a month in Iraq, a billion dollars a month and more in
Afghanistan, and already we have spent $200 billion. I want the
gentlewoman to know that I cannot imagine that this Congress, with all
of the cosponsors that she has, would not give us the opportunity
before we shut down to go home and be able to pass this legislation,
and, frankly, to save lives in America. There are homeless people, with
ruined lives, and we need to be able to protect them and provide them
opportunities.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for giving me this opportunity
not only to speak about the needs across the Nation, but to speak about
the needs in Houston. We have lived this and we have seen it. I have
gone out to homes. While I speak there are people living in conditions
that are shameful. We need more money in Houston, but I know we need
more money across the Nation for housing.
So I hope we will see the passage of this bill. Let us do everything
we can. I cannot thank the gentlewoman enough for the leadership that
she has provided, and she has my commitment that we will work together
on this very important issue.
The House version of the National Housing Trust Fund legislation now
has an impressive 214 cosponsors. But the leadership of the Financial
Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the bill, has not taken
up the bill.
So in late July, my colleagues Representatives Barbara Lee, Michael
Capuano and Bernie Sanders filed a discharge petition in an effort to
move the National Housing Trust Fund forward. The petition would
``discharge'' the committee of its responsibility in considering the
bill. If a majority of the Members, 218, sign the petition, the bill
could come directly to the House floor for debate and a vote.
A National Housing Trust Fund would construct, rehabilitate, and
preserve rental housing for people with the very lowest incomes, as
well as provide rental housing and homeownership opportunities for some
people with incomes up to 80 percent of the area median income. The
Trust Fund would use a dedicated source of revenue to produce,
rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years.
The Trust Fund will provide much needed stimulus to our economy,
creating jobs and adding to the revenues of states and localities. An
investment of $5 billion in a National Housing Trust Fund will result
in 1.8 million new jobs and $50 billion in wages.
The lack of adequate housing hurts children now and into the future.
Poor housing circumstances have been linked to poor educational
performance and poor health.
Children with unstable housing situation have unstable schooling. A
review of the research on high classroom turnover shows the highly
detrimental effects of changing schools on educational outcomes. Other
research shows that children living in substandard housing have
increased chances of lead poisoning and asthma, while high housing
costs lead to child malnutrition, as families choose between food and
rent.
While people with the lowest incomes face the greatest difficulty in
finding housing that is available and affordable, people across the
income spectrum are experiencing housing affordability problems. There
is nearly a two million unit gap in the housing available and
affordable for the lowest income people and the number of people
needing housing.
There is no jurisdiction, urban, suburban or rural, where wages from
a full-time minimum wage job can pay the rent on a modest two-bedroom
home and in many places, the equivalent of at least two or three full-
time minimum wage salaries are needed. In addition, a recent study
found that 4.8 million low- to moderate-income working families--
families earning between the full-time minimum wage and 120 percent of
the area median income--had critical housing needs in 2001, spending
more than half of their income on rent or living in substandard
housing.
The lack of affordable housing hurts elderly people and people with
disabilities. On average, people with disabilities who receive SSI
would need to use their entire SSI check each month to pay the rent on
a modest one-bedroom apartment. Six times as many seniors needed
housing assistance than were receiving assistance and 324,000 existing
subsidized and affordable housing units are at risk of being lost to
the private market.
The national vacancy rate does not capture the market failure in
affordable housing. The 2001 national vacancy rate of 8.4 percent does
not mean that those vacant units are uniformly available around the
country, nor that those vacant units are affordable to people with low
incomes. Recent housing development has been focused on luxury rentals,
out of reach of people earning low wages. In contrast, over the 1990s,
14 percent of the rental housing affordable to the poorest people has
disappeared from the housing stock. Indeed, in many places, affordable
housing has been demolished to make room for luxury housing.
In light of the nation's housing crisis, the National Housing Trust
Fund is a moral imperative and national resources should be used to
combat this. To date, nearly 4,000 organizations, religious leaders,
businesses, newspaper editorials and others have said that our country
needs a National Housing Trust Fund by becoming Trust Fund endorsers.
New endorsers of the Trust Fund are added every day. In the 107th
Congress, the endorsers were joined by 200 members of the House of
Representatives and 29 members of the Senate who cosponsored Trust Fund
legislation. Given the extent of housing needs, the federal government
should make it a priority to provide sufficient resources for the
construction, preservation and rehabilitation of housing for the
poorest people.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from Texas for
that very powerful, eloquent, and comprehensive statement, and also for
reminding us of the types of cuts and what is on the chopping block
this year as we try to push forward a bill to create 1.5 million
affordable housing units.
The gentlewoman reminds us of what we are faced with and what we are
fighting just to protect. Let me give some numbers here, Mr. Speaker.
First of all, by HUD's own admission, this year's budget cuts $1.63
billion out of Section 8. That is outrageous. Public housing funding is
being cut by $180 million. The gentlewoman talked about public housing
in her district. What are people going to do? What are people going to
do? We zeroed out $149 million for last year's HOPE VI. Outrageous.
Outrageous.
For Community Development Block Grants, the funding is what we call
flat, which means really that it has fallen by about 9 percent. The
budget actually eliminates brownfields, it eliminates rural housing and
economic development, it eliminates empowerment zones and Community
Development Block Grants. It rescinds about $675 million of contract
amendments for our section 236 projects, which provide prepayments for
assisted housing projects.
{time} 2100
The request of $139 million represents a cut of $35 million for lead
paint grants. I could go on and on. Serving as a member of the
Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, we have fought these
battles this year and will continue to fight against these cuts.
As we attempt to get a debate on the National Housing Trust Fund,
what we
[[Page H7552]]
see are efforts to cut what is left. We need to not only restore these
cuts that are in the existing budget, but we need to fight for more
funding for section 8, more funding for community block grants and more
funding to get rid of lead in our children's homes. We need more money,
not cuts. This affordable housing trust fund at least puts us stepping
in the right direction.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee)
to comment on these cuts as they relate to her district. I know the
gentlewoman's district is similar to my district in terms of the
struggles that people mount every day. This is an important issue that
needs to be made a national priority.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding to me.
First of all, these are shocking numbers to know that our
appropriations that are moving to the floor are going to literally put
a dagger in the needs of Americans all over.
One thing I would say is housing is not political. It is not
partisan. It should not be. I want to just read a column from David
Broder, Washington Post, ``Help At Home.'' He mentions Henry Cisneros
and Jack Kemp. He mentions that they were right in contending that
housing is every bit as important a measure of American values as any
of those other concerns. The quote is, ``We are a Nation that
understands and asserts the promise of individual opportunity, and we
recognize that decent housing is a precursor to its realization.'' Then
they say their agenda includes programs to end chronic homelessness.
When we take away section 8 and the equity program and the public
housing program, we increase homelessness. It is chronic homelessness
for people who cannot just pull themselves up. They want to revive and
expand public housing, increase the use of housing vouchers, encourage
employee-assisted housing, eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable
housing and crack down on predatory lending and overt discrimination.
Obviously, that is an expanded concept, but then they endorse the
establishment of a national housing trust fund. This is an idea which
is gathering increasing support in Congress to provide the capital
needed to produce affordable housing.
One other comment, I say housing is not partisan; Secretary Jackson
was in Texas, but even his review of the situation when he was in the
home of a senior citizen, Mrs. Waddle, Secretary Alphonso Jackson
examined the crumbling wallboard, cracked ceiling and sagging
foundation in Earnestine Waddle's northwest Houston home. She is 73
years old. She brought the whole group of us to an emotional
standstill. We are waiting to have her home repaired. She is an example
of what the gentlewoman is talking about.
I would simply say the national housing trust is long overdue. Here
we have bipartisan affirmation that we need to do more for housing, and
here we have Earnestine Waddles's home as a symbol of homes across the
Nation. We want to be in the business of helping people across the
Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the article about Secretary
Jackson's visit to Earnestine Waddle's home.
[From the Houston Chronicle, June 30, 2004]
Wait for House Repairs Ending
(By Mike Snyder)
A member of President Bush's Cabinet draped his arm around
a 73-year-old Houston widow Wednesday and promised that her
long wait for badly needed home repairs would soon end.
Alphonso Jackson, the U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, examined the crumbling wallboard, cracked
ceiling and sagging foundation in Earnestine Waddle's
northwest Houston home. Waddle will be the first homeowner to
get help under a revamped city program to repair the homes of
low-income elderly and disabled people, Jackson said.
``I'm somewhat emotional, because I think this is wrong,
that Mrs. Waddle has to live like this,'' Jackson said.
HUD suspended Houston's home-repair program in November
after finding evidence that some contractors had been
overpaid or performed shoddy work. The city resumed the
service on a limited basis in April, but the guidelines were
so restrictive that fewer than a dozen households qualified
for assistance.
Jackson said Wednesday that work should begin this month on
an expanded program that will include major rehabilitation
and reconstruction of houses as well as the short-term
emergency repairs being made now. His announcement prompted
applause and a chorus of ``amen'' from a crowd gathered to
hear him at the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center.
Mayor Bill White, who joined Jackson and U.S. Rep. Sheila
Jackson Lee for the announcement, said new guidelines worked
out by the city and HUD will ensure problems that led the
federal agency to shut down the program would not recur.
``We are going to do what it takes to get qualified people
to do these home repairs,'' White said. ``We will be
accountable for what we do.''
If the City Council approves, the city will budget $2
million for the program, and HUD will reimburse the city
after approving the completed work.
In the past, the city has delegated the selection of
contractors and oversight of their work to nonprofit agencies
such as the Houston Area Urban League. Under the revised
guidelines, city employees will perform these functions, said
Kevin Davis, spokesman for the city's Housing and Community
Development Department.
A limit of $5,000 per house is being eliminated, Davis
said, because officials determined this was not enough to
address the needs of many eligible households. Officials
haven't decided whether to apply a new cap, he said.
The home reconstruction component is new to the program and
reflects a recognition that many houses are in such poor
condition that repairs are not feasible.
Jackson said he came to Houston at the urging of Jackson
Lee, a Democrat whose 18th Congressional District includes
many poor Houston neighborhoods where repairs are badly
needed. Jackson Lee has spent months working with local and
federal officials to get the program started again.
``In her tenacious style, she brought (the problem) to my
attention and kept insisting that I come and look at what was
happening,'' Jackson said. ``She emphasized why the program
was so important.''
Waddle, who said she has lived in the house in Acres Homes
for almost 40 years, said she was grateful for Jackson's
help.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am glad the gentlewoman brought to our
attention the visit of the Secretary of HUD. I was quite disappointed
when he came to our subcommittee when we were talking about housing. He
indicated that poverty was a state of mind and had nothing much to do
with the economics or discrimination or the environment or the state of
condition in terms of one's circumstances. Perhaps he was sensitized by
this visit. Let us hope so.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine
Brown), a great leader, who is fighting on many fronts.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me
commend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) and the gentlewoman
from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). I have visited both of your districts,
and I know we have similar problems as far as HUD is concerned and
housing and homeownership.
I personally had one of the largest town hall meeting workshops on
homeownership where we brought in all of our partners, and we are
working together to try to improve housing for all Americans.
The Congressional Black Caucus's goal is to have a million new
homeowners. I am proud to be a part of that.
But I have to say that this administration, the Bush administration,
has almost wiped out the housing program. In the memo that was
uncovered that, if George W. Bush is reelected, they are going to cut
every single domestic program, and there are not a lot of advocates,
unfortunately, for housing in this Congress.
On the vote tonight is another demonstration of ``we do not really
care about the people who need the hands up.'' This administration
practices what I call reverse Robin Hood. When I was coming up, my
favorite program was Robin Hood. These people practice robbing from the
poor and working people to give tax breaks to the rich. Of course, it
happened again today.
I certainly agree that we need middle class tax cuts, but we also
need breaks for the working poor, people who work every day but cannot
make it because they do not have health insurance, they do not have
decent housing for their children.
I was listening to the report on 9/11 where they were talking about
what was not available for the young people in Iraq, decent housing,
training, education. I said to myself, we need a little of that in my
district, and I am sure in the gentlewoman's.
The homeless have been mentioned. I have been on the Committee on
Veterans Affairs for over 12 years. One-third of the homeless people
are veterans, one-third. It is criminal that we
[[Page H7553]]
do not provide the support system that they need. They are out there
because they do not have the proper medication, the proper assistance.
When one walks around and sees the homeless, most people try to have a
blind eye. One-third of them have lost a lot defending us.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, with regard to the homeless, I failed to
mention the budget numbers with regard to programs for the homeless, a
$50 million cut.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to mention $50
million, but the Hope Six program is slated to be completely
eliminated. That is the only program that goes into the community and
not only replaces housing but has other kinds of programs that will
assist the people that live in public housing to help them with job
training, education, after-school programs; and of course, the Drug
Elimination Program is completely wiped out.
I have to say Under Secretary Mel Martinez and George W. Bush, they
have destroyed the housing program. It is just not a priority for the
administration.
Hope Six in Florida received three grants, but it may be the last
round of assistance that people in public housing will receive if this
administration is reelected.
The Drug Elimination Program, Members can see that this program and
programs which assist, help with after-school programs and tutoring
programs; it was the program that actually brought in the cops into the
community, working with the young people so they would not get involved
in the world of crime; completely eliminated under this administration.
The list goes on.
Certainly housing has not been a priority. But what was interesting
to me was I have received visits from the realtors and the home
builders because they are concerned about the new homeownership
programs that have worked so well with the public-private partnerships.
Those programs have been on the chopping block in Florida and
throughout the country.
I know the gentlewoman has received some of the same complaints. Why
would programs be cut which actually help people become homeowners?
Mr. Speaker, let me say to the gentlewoman, I am very excited about
her program, and I am very pleased to be a cosponsor, but can the
gentlewoman explain where we are going to get the funds from?
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for laying it out there
and telling it like it is.
Initially, when we introduced this legislation a couple of years ago,
the funding would come from the FHA reserves. There is enough money in
the FHA reserve account to fund this $5 billion and keep our reserve
account solvent.
However, in the spirit of bipartisanship, tripartisanship with the
gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), we agreed that we would amend out
the specific designation of the FHA reserve fund as the $5 billion
contributor to the trust fund and indicated we would provide the
opportunity for our very capable appropriators to determine where this
$5 billion could come from.
Mr. Speaker, there are many accounts which this $5 billion could come
from where it would not even be missed. Here, we could create 1.6
million new jobs, $50 billion in wages. Our economy could get going
again. We would have good-paying jobs in the construction industry, and
we would provide affordable housing for millions of people.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, what a wonderful program.
Just one other point I want to make. Recently, the present Secretary
of HUD was on Mr. O'Reilly's program, and I want to get a copy of the
transcript and submit it for the record because it was horrifying that
someone, an African-American, could talk about the fact that you are in
an awful condition because this is what you want to be in. He would not
have been in the position of Secretary if it were not for affirmative
action, a program that this administration; President George W. Bush,
on Martin Luther King's birthday announced we should not have any
affirmative action.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I mentioned earlier when the gentlewoman from
Texas indicated that the Secretary had visited her district and visited
an individual who was living in a dilapidated house, and I said I hoped
he had become a little more sensitive to what we were talking about
because in the subcommittee hearing, he talked about poverty in terms
of it being a state of mind, not a state of condition, not a function
of circumstances or unemployment or living in substandard housing in
communities which had very little resources. I am not sure if he became
more sensitized about the issues of poverty. I am shocked that he
continued with that argument on television.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, all we need to do is look
at the substandard conditions in many of our public housing complexes.
{time} 2115
That is not a state of mind. That is a state of circumstances, and no
one wants to be in those circumstances. But if we look at the dismal
record of this administration as far as job creation, African Americans
are at almost 10 percent unemployment. So if we look at where we are as
far as employment opportunities, training, it is interesting to talk
about what they are going to do in the future, but I would like the
people to look at their present record. Judge people on the work I have
done. I love that spiritual: ``Let the work I have done speak for me.''
We look at the record of this administration when it comes to housing,
and it is dismal. When it comes to training, dismal. When it comes to
education, dismal. And all of this goes together to change that state
of mind, to give people that opportunity to get a heads up, and that is
what we are supposed to be about.
It is a real honor to serve in the House of Representatives. It is
really an honor because we have an opportunity to help people that need
a little helping hand. It is not a state of mind. We visit people who
try all they can, and they have run out of their employment, and the
training program is not there. And they have trained people to go into
other jobs, and then they have sent those jobs overseas, and they have
no job.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, let me just say I am glad
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) highlighted what the
real issues are right now in this country. Talking about jobs and
unemployment, for example, in my district the average cost of a house,
a two-bedroom house, it is about $450,000, and the unemployment rate in
the African American community and the Latino community is double
digit. Also, the average income is 45, 35, $50,000. How in the world
can a family of four afford a two-bedroom $450,000 house on an income
of 45 to $50,000, if that? The American Dream is a nightmare. It is a
nightmare for many Americans.
This affordable housing trust fund would help bring us back home. It
would help allow for the American Dream to be realized even by those
who have not had those opportunities that some of us have had, and that
is what this is about.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman
yield?
Ms. LEE. I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. That is, Mr. Speaker, I think the most
important thing, to have a trust fund. So once we have a trust fund,
then we have a dedicated source of revenue, and that is certainly what
housing needs because it is not a priority. A lot of people that are in
housing, they do not vote. They do not have any rich lobbyists up here.
So, therefore, they are not included. They are not on the agenda. No
one cares about them. So that is part of the problem.
So I really want to commend the gentlewoman for coming up with a
mechanism that we can have a dedicated source of revenue. And then, of
course, we will have to continue to fight because, just like in
transportation, the reason why we cannot pass a transportation bill,
and the money is also there in the trust fund, is this administration
for some reason does not want to invest in the infrastructure in this
country. In Iraq, yes. But not in this country. Because for
transportation every billion dollars creates 44,000 jobs, and that is
what the people need.
[[Page H7554]]
Once they have a job, then they can have housing. But until that
time, they have to have affordable housing because people just cannot
afford it. And the gentlewoman said $44,000 or $45,000 or $50,000. What
happens when people have nothing, they have no source of income? They
have lost their job, they paid into the fund, but yet this
administration will not even entertain extending it so that people can
get some assistance.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, let me say I am glad the
gentlewoman called to the public's attention the special interest
political nature of housing. And she is right. The homeless do not have
lots of money to put a lobbyist here in Washington, D.C. to pound the
pavement all the time. But we are really very fortunate that 5,000
organizations have come on board for the National Housing Trust Fund
Campaign led by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. So I am just
very proud of them that they have stepped up to the plate and have
filled that void, and that is why it is unbelievable that after we
passed the bill out of committee, we cannot even get it to the floor to
debate.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman will
continue to yield, it is not not believable because it is not a
priority of this administration. I have served for 23 years, 10 years
in the Florida House, and I have been here for over 12 years. I have
never seen an administration that dictates what comes before the House
of Representatives, the people's House. I mean, if they do not want the
bill to pass, it does not pass. Just like with the gun bill, they do
not want the bill to come up, regardless of what they have said,
because it did not come up. So people do not understand what has
happened in this country and in the people's House.
I love being here because it was 129 years before the first African
American got elected to Congress; so I feel that it is very important
that we speak up for the people who do not have lobbyists here in
Washington, who do not have people that are going to fight to make sure
that we have decent, safe, and affordable housing. And we have a
Secretary who does not understand that, a Secretary of Housing, who
just happens to be an African American.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I think this is a good
example of how the democratic process over and over and over has been
thwarted in this House. Here we have 5,000 organizations, we have
sponsored a bill that is tripartisan, the bill passed out of the
committee, so regular order has prevailed. And where is the bill? We
cannot even have a debate, and that is all this discharge petition
requires is a debate. We have 214 cosponsors. That is a lot of people.
That represents millions of Americans, those 214. How in the world
their voices are allowed to be stifled in a debate as important as this
one is beyond me. I thought democracy was real in America, but this is
another example, and in this instance it is my understanding the former
Secretary of HUD just called to say, We do not want it to come to the
floor. I do not know what his reasons are. He is now running for the
senate out in the gentlewoman's State, Mel Martinez, but he did not
want it to come; so it is not here.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman will
continue to yield, I know him very well. He is a nice person. But I can
tell the gentlewoman he was the worst Secretary we ever had. Because
for this administration, it is just not a priority, and they do not
want to spend the dollars. It is mind boggling how if a person is not
one of the rich, companies, I mean, the gentlewoman talks about people
that really need a helping hand. That is not a priority of this
administration. It is not a priority of the former Secretary. It is
just not when they cut the programs that they cut. It does not matter
what one says. I say that all the time. Actions speak louder than
words. I can say ``I love you'' all I want to. I can say ``I
support you'' all I want to. But if I cut the programs that make people
whole, then I do not care anything about them.
They can show them better than they can tell them. And this
administration consistently has cut not only housing but veterans
housing programs, consistently cut them. And, therefore, if we do not
have affordable housing, then people end up homeless in the streets.
And that is a sad state of affairs when we have veterans in the streets
that today they are our soldiers, they are our heroes; tomorrow there
is no safety net for them.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, during the Congressional
Black Caucus weekend, we provide breakfast for the homeless. And I have
the privilege, it is a real honor, to be able to just be there with the
homeless and serve breakfast 1 day in Washington, D.C. Each and every
year in the last 3 years, that line has grown and grown and grown. And
I am appalled at the number of homeless veterans who come out for a
meal on that morning.
So when I come back here to Congress on the subcommittee and fight
for the $50 million, to restore those cuts, fight for additional
funding for the homeless and for Hope VI, I cannot help but wonder who
is out of touch with reality in this administration and in this
Congress and why in the world that would just cost $5 billion would not
be allowed to get to the floor to be discussed. Is there a problem
there?
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the problem, in my
opinion, is that if this administration does not support it, then it
cannot come to the floor. We cannot have a debate over it. In fact, if
we look at the Medicare bill, which is just so important to so many
people, they would not even allow a Democrat in the House of
Representatives to be on conference. They have the votes, but they do
not even want to discuss ideas that are not their ideas. Even though
they can just vote it down, they do not even want a discussion. And
that is the same thing with the gentlewoman's bill. They do not even
want the bill on the floor for discussion.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, it does not, again, make
any sense from a financial institution standpoint to not allow this
bill to come forward for discussion because financial institutions will
benefit from this economic stimulus initiative. Some of the
organizations that have supported the trust fund, let me just share
this with the gentlewoman: the National Cooperative Bank Community
Development Corporation, the Congress for Community and Economic
Development, National Neighborhood Coalition, the National Credit Union
Foundation, the National Community Building Network. I could go on and
on about the financial institutions that have supported this.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. If the gentlewoman will continue to
yield, Mr. Speaker, how will they partner? For example, I heard the
gentlewoman say the credit union, and I have spent time discussing with
them and talking with them about their being more involved with housing
and helping in homeownership.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, the financing that the financial institutions,
which private lenders would do, would be matched by the trust fund two
to one.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. So that would expand the dollars, and
so they would be able to serve more people?
Ms. LEE. That is right, Mr. Speaker. And we are talking, again, about
a public/private partnership. We are not talking about a handout. We
are not talking about a subsidy that is going to rip off the Federal
Treasury.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. So that $5 billion could be leveraged?
Ms. LEE. It could be leveraged up to 20, $30 billion. And that is the
problem. I would just say it is a drop in the bucket in terms of what
is possible under this type of arrangement with regard to a trust fund.
Several States have trust funds that have funds that have been
established. This would put 35 to 40 million in each State into a trust
fund. That would actually help trust funds that have been established
or start new trust funds, and the Federal Government would be a major
player in that and should be proud of what it would do for its people.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to once again
commend the gentlewoman on working on this initiative, on her AIDS
initiative. She has certainly been a bright star in Congress since she
has been here and her leadership in the area of housing and the work
that she has done as far as HIV and getting funding.
This administration went to Africa and committed $15 billion. I do
not
[[Page H7555]]
think we have $1 billion yet. Photo-ops are one thing. But that is,
once again, how we talk the talk, but we do not walk the walk. And the
world community had expected some assistance and some leadership from
the United States in this area, and none has come so far.
I just need to know what kind of dollars have been put up for the
AIDS that the gentlewoman worked so hard on.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for bringing that to
our attention.
{time} 2130
Ms. LEE. That was a $15 billion, 5-year initiative. It should have
been $3 billion for each year. We still have not gotten to the $3
billion for the first year yet. We are fighting very hard to increase
the appropriations. The trust fund was supposed to be up to $1 billion
a year. So far the administration has put up maybe $200 million a year.
We bumped it up a little bit on this side and are hoping the Senate
will bump it up, but we still have not gotten to $1 billion a year for
the trust fund.
I share that because the trust fund again has the ability to leverage
$8 billion to $9 billion worldwide for people living with HIV and AIDS,
for prevention, for care and treatment, for orphans, for young men and
women, for families, and we still cannot get the type of funding that
is required for the whole HIV-AIDS initiative. It is shameful.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman will
yield further, I guess, once again, it is not a priority. It is back to
Robin Hood. They do not have the big-time lobbyists up here, although
the world community is looking to the United States for leadership in
this area, and it is just has not been a priority.
I really want to commend the gentlewoman. I am going to let her
close. I want to thank her so much for her leadership in the housing
area, in what she has done as far as HIV, just stressing the importance
of having a dedicated source of revenue for housing, because, as I
said, the memo went around where this administration indicated if
reelected, every single domestic, domestic, program, would be cut.
Ms. LEE. I want to thank the gentlewoman.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Elections have consequences.
Ms. LEE. I thank the gentlewoman for joining us this evening and for
her steady hard work and leadership on housing and so many issues,
especially with regard to our veterans, our children, senior citizens
and all of those that she so forcefully and eloquently speak on behalf
of. Hopefully, after tonight, maybe the bell will alarm, maybe the drum
has been beat a bit louder because of her very powerful statement
tonight.
Mr. Speaker, let me just close by saying how important this
discussion is and how many of us feel that housing is a basic human
right, and until we realize that and establish policies that indicate
that, the American dream will continue to be a nightmare for millions
of Americans.
Our country does not have a housing policy. We need a national
housing policy. We need a national housing agenda that speaks to the
housing needs of the low income, the poor, the working poor, the middle
income, the upper income, all of those who care about housing and the
homeless.
Until we provide those basics, such as food and shelter, for the
least of these, I do not believe we are living up to our commitment in
terms of our faith, in terms of those who we care about, in terms of
making sure that liberty and justice for all is the order of the day.
I just urge all Members of this House to please help us move our
housing initiative forward by signing the Lee-Sanders-Capuano discharge
commitment. Please sign it next week before we leave, because the
people of America need to know that housing and the economic security
of families and children is not a partisan issue; that Democrats,
Republicans, independents, all care about it, and we want this American
dream to be real for each and every American.
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, from Vermont to California, there is an
affordable housing crisis in this country and it is only getting worse.
Millions of Americans who are working 40 hours a week, senior citizens,
and persons with disabilities are paying over 50 percent of their
limited incomes on housing. For families living paycheck to paycheck,
one unforeseen circumstance--a sick child, a lost job, a medical
emergency--can send them into homelessness. These life-shattering
events happen every day in America and it is a national disgrace.
Mr. Speaker, if you don't believe us, just ask the half-million
veterans who put their lives on the line defending this country or the
more than one million children who will experience homelessness this
year if they believe there is an affordable housing crisis. Ask moms
and dads who are working 40 hours a week that have to sleep in their
cars or out on the street because they can't pay the rent, if there's
an affordable housing crisis in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the sad reality is that there is not a single place in
America today where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford an
average 2 bedroom apartment. Not a single place in America.
Legislation that I have introduced to establish a National Affordable
Housing Trust Fund (H.R. 1102) will begin to put an end to this crisis
once and for all. It will give states and localities the resources they
need to build at least one and a half million affordable housing rental
units in this country leading to the creation of 1.8 million new jobs
and nearly $50 billion in wages. In other words, the National
Affordable Housing Trust Fund is a win-win that will put people back to
work and into affordable housing.
Unfortunately, despite over 200 tri-partisan co-sponsors; despite the
support of over 5,000 organizations representing organized labor, big
business, environmentalists, banks, religious leaders, and affordable
housing advocates, a vote has not been scheduled for this bill. For
over 3 years, the Administration has opposed this legislation, while
its policies have made the affordable housing crisis even worse. While
Congress has provided hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to
the wealthiest one percent over the past 3 years, we are forcing our
nation's low-income senior citizens, veterans, and families with
children to pay the price.
Well, in less than 48 hours, over 100 Members of Congress have signed
a discharge petition to force a vote on the National Affordable Housing
Trust Fund Act immediately.
Mr. Speaker, while 218 signatures are required in order to succeed, I
hope you don't make us wait that long. I hope that we can convince you
that this bill is needed now more than ever.
Mr. Speaker, I know that is a tough decision for you to make. But,
quite frankly, people all over this country are making much tougher
choices.
This evening a mom and dad will be at the kitchen table staring at
their bills. They will have to make a choice. Do we pay the rent; or do
we feed our children.
Tomorrow morning a senior citizen who worked hard and played by the
rules all of her adult life will have to make a choice. Will she pay
the rent; or will she pay for her life saving prescription drugs.
Mr. Speaker, it doesn't have to be this way. In the richest country
on earth, families should not have to make these unacceptable choices.
That's what the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund campaign is all
about.
And, just today, Jack Kemp and Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretaries
under President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, respectively have
endorsed the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
David Broder, wrote in the Washington Post this morning that the
Kemp-Cisneros ``Recommendations strike me as practical and specific--
not tilted to the left or the right. . . . They endorse the
establishment of a National Housing Trust Fund, an idea that has
gathered increasing support in Congress, to provide the capital needed
to produce, preserve or rehabilitate at least 1.5 million affordable
housing units over the next 10 years.''
And, according to the bipartisan National Millennial Housing
Commission, created by Congress, and co-chaired by our former colleague
Susan Molinari, ``The addition of 150,000 [affordable housing rental]
units annually would make substantial progress toward meeting the
housing needs of extremely low income households, but it would take
annual production of more than 250,000 units for more than 20 years to
close the gap.''
Mr. Speaker, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act will
close this serious affordable housing gap. In fact, if H.R. 1102 was
signed into law, we could more than triple affordable housing
construction next year and provide accommodations to more than 100,000
families. In short, the establishment of a National Affordable Housing
Trust Fund is needed now more than ever. I urge my colleagues to sign
the Discharge Petition. By doing this today, we can mark the beginning
of the end of the affordable housing crisis.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.
____________________