[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 31 (Tuesday, March 5, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. Blunt):
  S. 454. A bill to promote the development of local strategies to 
coordinate use of assistance under sections 8 and 9 of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 with public and private resources, to enable 
eligible families to achieve economic independence and self-
sufficiency, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Family Self-
Sufficiency Act, and I am pleased this Congress to be joined in this 
effort by my colleague, Senator Blunt of Missouri.
  The Family Self Sufficiency, FSS, program is an existing Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, employment and savings incentive 
initiative for families that have section 8 vouchers or live in public 
housing. The FSS program provides two key tools for its participants: 
first, it provides access to the resources and training that help 
participants pursue employment opportunities and meet financial goals, 
and second, it encourages FSS families to save by establishing an 
interest-bearing escrow account for them. Upon graduation from the FSS 
program, the family can use these savings to pay for job-related 
expenses, such as additional workforce training or the purchase or 
maintenance of a car needed for commuting purposes.
  Our bipartisan legislation seeks to enhance the FSS program by 
streamlining the administration of this program, by broadening the 
supportive services that can be provided to a participant, and by 
extending the FSS program to tenants who live in privately-owned 
properties with project-based assistance. In short, we seek to make the 
FSS program easier to administer and more effective.
  First, to streamline the FSS program, our bill would combine two 
separate FSS programs into one. Today, HUD operates one FSS program for 
those families served by the Housing Choice Voucher Program and another 
for those families served by the Public Housing program. This is the 
case even though the core purpose of each FSS program, to increase 
economic independence and self-sufficiency, is the same. Unfortunately, 
Public Housing Agencies, PHA, have to operate essentially two programs 
to achieve the same goal. With our bill, PHAs would be relieved of this 
unnecessary burden.
  Second, our legislation broadens the scope of the supportive services 
that may be offered to include attainment of a GED, education in 
pursuit of a post-secondary degree or certification, and training in 
financial literacy. Providing families in need with affordable rental 
housing is critical, but coupling it with the support and services to 
help families get ahead increases the effectiveness of this federal 
investment. Our legislation makes it easier for FSS participants to 
obtain the training necessary to secure employment and the education to 
make prudent financial decisions to better safeguard their earnings.
  Lastly, our bill opens up the FSS program to families who live in 
privately-owned properties subsidized with project-based rental 
assistance. It shouldn't matter what kind of housing assistance a 
family gets, and families seeking to achieve self-sufficiency shouldn't 
be held back by this sort of technicality.
  I thank Senator Blunt for his partnership, and I urge my colleagues 
to support this bipartisan bill, which will help give those receiving 
housing assistance a better chance to build their skills and achieve 
economic independence.
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