[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 123 (Monday, July 30, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H8919-H8920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SMALL PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY ACT

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3067) to amend the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 to exempt small public housing agencies from the 
requirement of preparing an annual public housing agency plan, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows

                               H.R. 3067

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Small Public Housing 
     Authority Act''.

     SEC. 2. PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY PLANS FOR CERTAIN SMALL PUBLIC 
                   HOUSING AGENCIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 5A(b) of the United States Housing 
     Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1(b)) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Exemption of certain small phas from filing 
     requirement.--
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or any 
     other provision of this Act--
       ``(i) the requirement under paragraph (1) shall not apply 
     to any qualified small public housing agency; and
       ``(ii) except as provided in subsection (e)(4)(B), any 
     reference in this section or any other provision of law to a 
     `public housing agency' shall not be considered to refer to 
     any qualified small public housing agency, to the extent such 
     reference applies to the requirement to submit an annual 
     public housing agency plan under this subsection.
       ``(B) Civil rights certification.--Notwithstanding that 
     qualified small public housing agencies are exempt pursuant 
     to subparagraph (A) from the requirement under this section 
     to prepare and submit an annual public housing plan, each 
     qualified small public housing agency shall, on an annual 
     basis, make the certification described in paragraph (16) of 
     subsection (d) of this section, except that for purposes of 
     such small public housing agencies, such paragraph shall be 
     applied by substituting `the public housing program of the 
     agency' for `the public housing agency plan'.
       ``(C) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     `qualified small public housing agency' means a public 
     housing agency that meets all of the following requirements:
       ``(i) The sum of (I) the number of public housing dwelling 
     units administered by the agency, and (II) the number of 
     vouchers under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act 
     of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) administered by the agency, is 
     250 or fewer.
       ``(ii) The agency--

       ``(I) is not designated pursuant to section 6(j)(2) as a 
     troubled public housing agency; and
       ``(II) has not, within the preceding 12 months, been 
     assigned a failing or below passing score under the section 8 
     management assessment program of the Secretary.''.

       (b) Resident Participation.--Section 5A of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (e), by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
     following:
       ``(4) Qualified small public housing agencies.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     nothing in this section may be construed to exempt a 
     qualified small public housing agency from the requirement 
     under paragraph (1) to establish one or more resident 
     advisory boards. Notwithstanding that qualified small public 
     housing agencies are exempt pursuant to subsection (b)(3)(A) 
     from the requirement under this section to prepare and submit 
     an annual public housing plan, each qualified small public 
     housing agency shall consult with, and consider the 
     recommendations of the resident advisory boards for the 
     agency, in any determinations and actions of the agency 
     regarding establishing goals, objectives, and policies of the 
     agency.
       ``(B) Applicability of waiver authority.--Paragraph (3) 
     shall apply to qualified small public housing agencies, 
     except that for purposes of such small public housing 
     agencies, subparagraph (B) of such paragraph shall be applied 
     by substituting `the functions described in the second 
     sentence of paragraph (4)(A)' for `the functions described in 
     paragraph (2)'.
       ``(f) Public Hearings.--''; and
       (2) in subsection (f) (as so designated by the amendment 
     made by paragraph (1) of this subsection), by adding at the 
     end the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) Qualified small public housing agencies.--
       ``(A) Requirement.--Notwithstanding that qualified small 
     public housing agencies are exempt pursuant to subsection 
     (b)(3)(A) from the requirement under this section to conduct 
     a public hearing regarding the annual public housing plan of 
     the agency, each qualified small public housing agency shall, 
     not less than annually, conduct a public hearing to discuss 
     the goals, objectives, and policies of the agency, and any 
     changes to such goals, objectives, and policies, and to 
     invite public comment regarding such issues.
       ``(B) Availability of information and notice.--Not later 
     than 45 days before the date of such a hearing, the qualified 
     small public housing agency shall--
       ``(i) make all information relevant to the hearing and any 
     determinations of the agency regarding the goals, objectives, 
     and policies of the agency to be considered at the hearing 
     available for inspection by the public at the principal 
     office of the public housing agency during normal business 
     hours; and
       ``(ii) publish a notice informing the public that (I) the 
     information is available as required under clause (i), and 
     (II) a public hearing under subparagraph (A) will be 
     conducted.''.
       (c) Amendments and Modifications to Plans.--Subsection (g) 
     of section 5A of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C.

[[Page H8920]]

     1437c-1(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(3) Qualified small public housing agencies.--Except to 
     the extent that this subsection applies to annual public 
     housing agency plans, nothing in this section may be 
     construed to exempt a qualified small public housing agency 
     from the requirements under this subsection.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I ask that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this bill and include therein any extraneous material.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  This is a bill that was brought forward in the previous Congress by 
the gentleman from Texas. It is very important that we regulate when 
necessary; it is equally important that we not regulate when it is 
unnecessary. This is an example of our recognition of that principle.
  We have rules that govern housing authorities. These are complex and 
difficult issues that housing authorities face. But one set of rules 
should not be made to fit all. Smaller housing authorities ought to 
have more flexibility than the larger housing authorities. This bill, 
brought forward by the gentleman from Texas, and I congratulate him for 
his persistence in calling this to the attention of the committee, acts 
on that principle.
  It exempts from excessive regulation, but not entirely from 
regulation, smaller housing authorities. In particular, I would just 
say that there was a rule for example that plans be made every 5 years 
and in some cases housing authorities have to report on certain things 
every year. In this case what we would say is that the smaller housing 
authorities would file their plan every 5 years and only if there are 
any changes of any significance in the covered matters would they have 
to report again. So it would save a lot of time, energy, and paperwork 
for the smaller housing authorities. It will help these people with the 
difficult job that they do.
  I thank the gentleman for bringing the bill forward.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3067, the Small Public 
Housing Authority Act.
  Like many of my colleagues, I represent a rural district where most 
of the public housing authorities operate in small communities. In 
fact, many of the PHAs in my district administer fewer than 200 housing 
units and some even have part-time directors or directors who split 
their time between public housing authorities. For many of those small 
public housing authorities, excessive paperwork requirements and 
outdated regulatory burdens continue to create an unnecessary 
distraction from their important work of providing affordable housing 
for underprivileged families.
  For example, the 1992 Public Housing Reform Act requires PHAs to 
submit both a 5-year and an annual plan to the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development. While the annual plans were designed to address 
changes to the 5-year plan, small PHAs are already required by law to 
submit any policy changes, as the gentleman from Massachusetts said, to 
HUD for review and approval. This yearly report of unchanged plans and 
policy amounts to an unnecessary Federal mandate. While HUD has taken 
regulatory steps to streamline this annual reporting for small PHAs 
that are performing well, a recent example of one of the streamlined 
plans was 47 pages with attachments. So small public housing 
authorities just do not have the time and the staff and the resources 
to complete these annual plans by themselves and in many cases have to 
use outside vendors or contractors, expensive consultants to do the 
work that they don't have the computer software to do themselves to 
complete these annual plans.
  For this reason, I have introduced H.R. 3067, the Small Public 
Housing Act. This legislation would bring long-needed regulatory relief 
to our small PHAs by exempting those that are 250 fewer units and 
section 8 vouchers from continuing the requirement of an annual plan if 
there is no material change in the operations during that year. So if 
they have some material change they still have to do it, but if it is 
just business as usual, then they do not have to make that submission. 
They still have to submit their 5-year plan, as is required by law.
  H.R. 3067 only addresses, as I said, the annual plans. This 
legislation will provide an opportunity where they don't have to spend 
their much-needed resources and time away from doing what they need to 
be doing, and that is helping to provide affordable housing for our 
most needy folks.
  I would just want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his 
interest in public housing. This bill passed overwhelmingly in the 
previous Congress. Unfortunately, the time ran out, and we did not get 
that done from the other body. As a matter of fact, it passed 387-2; so 
I think there is broad support for this. I appreciate Chairwoman 
Waters' Housing Subcommittee as well as Ranking Member Biggert and, of 
course, Ranking Member Bachus for their support for this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I thank the staffs of the 
majority and minority, who worked very well together on this, as they 
do on many bills
  Mr. PEARCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3067, the 
Small Public Housing Authority Act.
  Like many of my colleagues, I represent a rural district where most 
of the Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) operate in small communities. 
These small PHAs face excessive paperwork requirements and outdated 
regulatory burdens which undermine their ability to provide affordable 
housing to underprivileged families.
  Currently, all PHAs are required to submit both 5-year and annual 
plans to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD. However, 
these PHAs do not have the time, staff or resources to complete these 
annual plans and often have to hire expensive consultants to help 
complete these annual plans.
  I am pleased that my friend, Mr. Neugebauer from Texas, has taken the 
steps needed to alleviate this burden on small PHAs by introducing H.R. 
3067, the Small PHA Act. This legislation will bring long needed 
regulatory relief to small PHAs by exempting those with 250 or fewer 
public housing units and Section 8 vouchers from the requirement of 
submitting an annual plan to HUD.
  Today, I urge my colleagues to once again support regulatory relief 
for small PHAs by supporting H.R. 3067.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3067, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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