[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H178-H181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY ACT

  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4258) 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, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4258

       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 ``Family Self-Sufficiency 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 23 of the United States Housing 
     Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437u) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``public housing and''; and
       (B) by striking ``the certificate and voucher programs 
     under section 8'' and inserting ``sections 8 and 9'';
       (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
       ``(b) Continuation of Prior Required Programs.--
       ``(1) In general.--Each public housing agency that was 
     required to administer a local Family Self-Sufficiency 
     program on the date of enactment of the Family Self-
     Sufficiency Act, shall operate such local program for, at a 
     minimum, the number of families the agency was required to 
     serve on the date of enactment of such Act, subject only to 
     the availability under appropriations Acts of sufficient 
     amounts for housing assistance and the requirements of 
     paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Reduction.--The number of families for which a public 
     housing agency is required to operate such local program 
     under paragraph (1) shall be decreased by one for each family 
     from any supported rental housing program administered by 
     such agency that, after October 21, 1998, fulfills its 
     obligations under the contract of participation.
       ``(3) Exception.--The Secretary shall not require a public 
     housing agency to carry out a mandatory program for a period 
     of time upon the request of the public housing agency and 
     upon a determination by the Secretary that implementation is 
     not feasible because of local circumstances, which may 
     include--
       ``(A) lack of supportive services accessible to eligible 
     families, which shall include insufficient availability of 
     resources for programs under title I of the Workforce 
     Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.);
       ``(B) lack of funding for reasonable administrative costs;
       ``(C) lack of cooperation by other units of State or local 
     government; or
       ``(D) any other circumstances that the Secretary may 
     consider appropriate.'';
       (3) by striking subsection (i);
       (4) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), 
     and (h) as subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) 
     respectively;
       (5) by inserting after subsection (b), as amended, the 
     following:
       ``(c) Eligibility.--
       ``(1) Eligible families.--A family is eligible to 
     participate in a local Family Self-Sufficiency program under 
     this section if--
       ``(A) at least 1 household member seeks to become and 
     remain employed in suitable employment or to increase 
     earnings; and
       ``(B) the household member receives direct assistance under 
     section 8 or resides in a unit assisted under section 8 or 9.
       ``(2) Eligible entities.--The following entities are 
     eligible to administer a local Family Self-Sufficiency 
     program under this section:
       ``(A) A public housing agency administering housing 
     assistance to or on behalf of an eligible family under 
     section 8 or 9.
       ``(B) The owner or sponsor of a multifamily property 
     receiving project-based rental assistance under section 8, in 
     accordance with the requirements under subsection (l).'';
       (6) in subsection (d), as so redesignated--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``public housing agency'' the first time it 
     appears and inserting ``eligible entity'';
       (ii) in the first sentence, by striking ``each leaseholder 
     receiving assistance under the certificate and voucher 
     programs of the public housing agency under section 8 or 
     residing in public housing administered by the agency'' and 
     inserting ``a household member of an eligible family''; and
       (iii) by striking the third sentence and inserting the 
     following: ``Housing assistance may not be terminated as a 
     consequence of either successful completion of the contract 
     of participation or failure to complete such contract. A 
     contract of participation shall remain in effect until the 
     participating family exits the Family Self-Sufficiency 
     program upon successful graduation or expiration of the 
     contract of participation, or for other good cause.'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--

       (I) in the first sentence--

       (aa) by striking ``A local program under this section'' and 
     inserting ``An eligible entity'';
       (bb) by striking ``provide'' and inserting ``coordinate''; 
     and
       (cc) by striking ``to'' and inserting ``for''; and

       (II) in the second sentence--

       (aa) by striking ``provided during'' and inserting 
     ``coordinated for'';
       (bb) by striking ``under section 8 or residing in public 
     housing'' and inserting ``pursuant to section 8 or 9 and for 
     the duration of the contract of participation''; and
       (cc) by inserting ``, but are not limited to'' after ``may 
     include'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``or attainment of a 
     high school equivalency certificate'' after ``high school'';
       (iii) by striking subparagraph (G);
       (iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (E), (F), and (J) as 
     subparagraphs (F), (G), and (K) respectively;
       (v) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
       ``(E) education in pursuit of a post-secondary degree or 
     certification;'';
       (vi) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ``financial 
     literacy, such as training in financial management, financial 
     coaching, and asset building, and'' after ``training in'';
       (vii) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
     and
       (viii) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
       ``(J) homeownership education and assistance; and'';
       (C) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) in the first sentence, by inserting ``the first 
     recertification of income after'' after ``not later than 5 
     years after''; and
       (ii) in the second sentence--

       (I) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity''; and
       (II) by striking ``of the agency'';

       (D) by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
       ``(4) Employment.--The contract of participation shall 
     require 1 household member of the participating family to 
     seek and maintain suitable employment.''; and
       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Nonparticipation.--Assistance under section 8 or 9 
     for a family that elects not to participate in a Family Self-
     Sufficiency program shall not be delayed by reason of such 
     election.'';
       (7) in subsection (e), as so redesignated--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``whose monthly adjusted 
     income does not exceed 50 percent'' and all that follows 
     through the period at the end of the third sentence and 
     inserting ``shall be calculated under the rental provisions 
     of section 3 or section 8(o), as applicable.'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking the first sentence and inserting the 
     following: ``For each participating family, an amount equal 
     to any increase in the amount of rent paid by the family in 
     accordance with the provisions of section 3 or 8(o), as 
     applicable, that is attributable to increases in earned 
     income by the participating family, shall be placed in an 
     interest-bearing escrow account established by the eligible 
     entity on behalf of the participating family. Notwithstanding 
     any other provision of law, an eligible entity may use funds 
     it controls under section 8 or 9 for purposes of making the 
     escrow deposit for participating families assisted under, or 
     residing in units assisted under, section 8 or 9, 
     respectively, provided such funds are offset by the increase 
     in the amount of rent paid by the participating family.'';
       (ii) by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
     following: ``All Family Self-Sufficiency programs 
     administered under this section shall include an escrow 
     account.'';
       (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``subsection 
     (c)'' and inserting ``subsection (d)''; and
       (iv) in the last sentence--

[[Page H179]]

       (I) by striking ``A public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``An eligible entity''; and
       (II) by striking ``the public housing agency'' and 
     inserting ``such eligible entity''; and

       (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
       ``(3) Forfeited escrow.--Any amount placed in an escrow 
     account established by an eligible entity for a participating 
     family as required under paragraph (2), that exists after the 
     end of a contract of participation by a household member of a 
     participating family that does not qualify to receive the 
     escrow, shall be used by the eligible entity for the benefit 
     of participating families in good standing.'';
       (8) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by striking ``, 
     unless the income of the family equals or exceeds 80 percent 
     of the median income of the area (as determined by the 
     Secretary with adjustments for smaller and larger 
     families)'';
       (9) in subsection (g), as so redesignated--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'';
       (ii) by striking ``the public housing agency'' and 
     inserting ``such eligible entity''; and
       (iii) by striking ``subsection (g)'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (h)''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'' each place that term appears;
       (ii) by striking ``or the Job Opportunities and Basic 
     Skills Training Program under part F of title IV of the 
     Social Security Act'';
       (iii) by inserting ``primary, secondary, and post-
     secondary'' after ``public and private''; and
       (iv) in the second sentence, by inserting ``and tenants 
     served by the program'' after ``the unit of general local 
     government'';
       (10) in subsection (h), as so redesignated--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'';
       (ii) by striking ``participating in the'' and inserting 
     ``carrying out a''; and
       (iii) by striking ``to the Secretary'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'';
       (ii) by striking ``subsection (f)'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (g)'';
       (iii) by striking ``residents of the public housing'' and 
     inserting ``the current and prospective participants of the 
     program''; and
       (iv) by striking ``or the Job Opportunities and Basic 
     Skills Training Program under part F of title IV of the 
     Social Security Act''; and
       (C) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) in subparagraph (C)--

       (I) by striking ``subsection (c)(2)'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (d)(2)'';
       (II) by striking ``provided to'' and inserting 
     ``coordinated on behalf of participating'';
       (III) by inserting ``direct'' before ``assistance''; and
       (IV) by striking ``the section 8 and public housing 
     programs'' and inserting ``sections 8 and 9'';

       (ii) in subparagraph (D)--

       (I) by striking ``subsection (d)'' and inserting 
     ``subsection (e)''; and
       (II) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity'';

       (iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``deliver'' and 
     inserting ``coordinate'';
       (iv) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``the Job 
     Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program under part F 
     of title IV of the Social Security Act and''; and
       (v) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``public housing or 
     section 8 assistance'' and inserting ``assistance under 
     section 8 or 9'';
       (11) by amending subsection (i), as so redesignated, to 
     read as follows:
       ``(i) Family Self-Sufficiency Awards.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to appropriations, the Secretary 
     shall establish a formula by which annual funds will be 
     awarded or as otherwise determined by the Secretary for the 
     costs incurred by an eligible entity in administering the 
     self-sufficiency program under this section.
       ``(2) Eligibility for awards.--The award established under 
     paragraph (1) shall provide funding for family self-
     sufficiency coordinators as follows:
       ``(A) Base award.--An eligible entity serving 25 or more 
     participants in the Family Self-Sufficiency program under 
     this section is eligible to receive an award equal to the 
     costs, as determined by the Secretary, of 1 full-time family 
     self-sufficiency coordinator position. The Secretary may, by 
     regulation or notice, determine the policy concerning the 
     award for an eligible entity serving fewer than 25 such 
     participants, including providing prorated awards or allowing 
     such entities to combine their programs under this section 
     for purposes of employing a coordinator.
       ``(B) Additional award.--An eligible entity that meets 
     performance standards set by the Secretary is eligible to 
     receive an additional award sufficient to cover the costs of 
     filling an additional family self-sufficiency coordinator 
     position if such entity has 75 or more participating 
     families, and an additional coordinator for each additional 
     50 participating families, or such other ratio as may be 
     established by the Secretary based on the award allocation 
     evaluation under subparagraph (E).
       ``(C) State and regional agencies.--For purposes of 
     calculating the award under this paragraph, each 
     administratively distinct part of a State or regional 
     eligible entity may be treated as a separate agency.
       ``(D) Determination of number of coordinators.--In 
     determining whether an eligible entity meets a specific 
     threshold for funding pursuant to this paragraph, the 
     Secretary shall consider the number of participants enrolled 
     by the eligible entity in its Family Self-Sufficiency program 
     as well as other criteria determined by the Secretary.
       ``(E) Award allocation evaluation.--The Secretary shall 
     submit to Congress a report evaluating the award allocation 
     under this subsection, and make recommendations based on this 
     evaluation and other related findings to modify such 
     allocation, within 4 years after the date of enactment of the 
     Family Self-Sufficiency Act, and not less frequently than 
     every 4 years thereafter. The report requirement under this 
     subparagraph shall terminate after the Secretary has 
     submitted two such reports to Congress.
       ``(3) Renewals and allocation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Funds allocated by the Secretary under 
     this subsection shall be allocated in the following order of 
     priority:
       ``(i) First priority.--Renewal of the full cost of all 
     coordinators in the previous year at each eligible entity 
     with an existing Family Self-Sufficiency program that meets 
     applicable performance standards set by the Secretary.
       ``(ii) Second priority.--New or incremental coordinator 
     funding authorized under this section.
       ``(B) Guidance.--If the first priority, as described in 
     subparagraph (A)(i), cannot be fully satisfied, the Secretary 
     may prorate the funding for each eligible entity, as long 
     as--
       ``(i) each eligible entity that has received funding for at 
     least 1 part-time coordinator in the prior fiscal year is 
     provided sufficient funding for at least 1 part-time 
     coordinator as part of any such proration; and
       ``(ii) each eligible entity that has received funding for 
     at least 1 full-time coordinator in the prior fiscal year is 
     provided sufficient funding for at least 1 full-time 
     coordinator as part of any such proration.
       ``(4) Recapture or offset.--Any awards allocated under this 
     subsection by the Secretary in a fiscal year that have not 
     been spent by the end of the subsequent fiscal year or such 
     other time period as determined by the Secretary may be 
     recaptured by the Secretary and shall be available for 
     providing additional awards pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), or 
     may be offset as determined by the Secretary. Funds 
     appropriated pursuant to this section shall remain available 
     for 3 years in order to facilitate the re-use of any 
     recaptured funds for this purpose.
       ``(5) Performance reporting.--Programs under this section 
     shall be required to report the number of families enrolled 
     and graduated, the number of established escrow accounts and 
     positive escrow balances, and any other information that the 
     Secretary may require. Program performance shall be reviewed 
     periodically as determined by the Secretary.
       ``(6) Incentives for innovation and high performance.--The 
     Secretary may reserve up to 5 percent of the amounts made 
     available under this subsection to provide support to or 
     reward Family Self-Sufficiency programs based on the rate of 
     successful completion, increased earned income, or other 
     factors as may be established by the Secretary.'';
       (12) in subsection (j)--
       (A) by striking ``public housing agency'' the first place 
     such term appears and inserting ``eligible entity'';
       (B) by striking ``public housing'' before ``units'';
       (C) by striking ``in public housing projects administered 
     by the agency'';
       (D) by inserting ``or coordination'' after ``provision''; 
     and
       (E) by striking the last sentence;
       (13) in subsection (k), by striking ``public housing 
     agencies'' and inserting ``eligible entities'';
       (14) by striking subsection (n);
       (15) by striking subsection (o);
       (16) by redesignating subsections (l) and (m) as 
     subsections (m) and (n), respectively;
       (17) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
       ``(l) Programs for Tenants in Privately Owned Properties 
     With Project-Based Assistance.--
       ``(1) Voluntary availability of fss program.--The owner of 
     a privately owned property may voluntarily make a Family 
     Self-Sufficiency program available to the tenants of such 
     property in accordance with procedures established by the 
     Secretary. Such procedures shall permit the owner to enter 
     into a cooperative agreement with a local public housing 
     agency that administers a Family Self-Sufficiency program or, 
     at the owner's option, operate a Family Self-Sufficiency 
     program on its own or in partnership with another owner. An 
     owner, who voluntarily makes a Family Self-Sufficiency 
     program available pursuant to this subsection, may access 
     funding from any residual receipt accounts for the property 
     to hire a family self-sufficiency coordinator or coordinators 
     for their program.
       ``(2) Cooperative agreement.--Any cooperative agreement 
     entered into pursuant to paragraph (1) shall require the 
     public housing agency to open its Family Self-Sufficiency 
     program waiting list to any eligible family residing in the 
     owner's property who resides in a unit assisted under 
     project-based rental assistance.
       ``(3) Treatment of families assisted under this 
     subsection.--A public housing

[[Page H180]]

     agency that enters into a cooperative agreement pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) may count any family participating in its 
     Family Self-Sufficiency program as a result of such agreement 
     as part of the calculation of the award under subsection (i).
       ``(4) Escrow.--
       ``(A) Cooperative agreement.--A cooperative agreement 
     entered into pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide for the 
     calculation and tracking of the escrow for participating 
     residents and for the owner to make available, upon request 
     of the public housing agency, escrow for participating 
     residents, in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
     subsection (e), residing in units assisted under section 8.
       ``(B) Calculation and tracking by owner.--The owner of a 
     privately owned property who voluntarily makes a Family Self-
     Sufficiency program available pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 
     calculate and track the escrow for participating residents 
     and make escrow for participating residents available in 
     accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (e).
       ``(5) Exception.--This subsection shall not apply to 
     properties assisted under section 8(o)(13).
       ``(6) Suspension of enrollment.--In any year, the Secretary 
     may suspend the enrollment of new families in Family Self-
     Sufficiency programs under this subsection based on a 
     determination that insufficient funding is available for this 
     purpose.'';
       (18) in subsection (m), as so redesignated--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) in the first sentence, by striking ``Each public 
     housing agency'' and inserting ``Each eligible entity'';
       (ii) in the second sentence, by striking ``The report shall 
     include'' and inserting ``The contents of the report shall 
     include''; and
       (iii) in subparagraph (D)--

       (I) by striking ``public housing agency'' and inserting 
     ``eligible entity''; and
       (II) by striking ``local''; and

       (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and describing any 
     additional research needs of the Secretary to evaluate the 
     effectiveness of the program'' after ``under paragraph (1)'';
       (19) in subsection (n), as so redesignated, by striking 
     ``may'' and inserting ``shall''; and
       (20) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(o) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an 
     entity that meets the requirements under subsection (c)(2) to 
     administer a Family Self-Sufficiency program under this 
     section.
       ``(2) Eligible family.--The term `eligible family' means a 
     family that meets the requirements under subsection (c)(1) to 
     participate in the Family Self-Sufficiency program under this 
     section.
       ``(3) Participating family.--The term `participating 
     family' means an eligible family that is participating in the 
     Family Self-Sufficiency program under this section.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--Not later than 360 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development shall issue notice or regulations to implement 
     this Act and any amendments made by this Act, and this Act 
     and any amendments made by this Act shall take effect upon 
     such issuance.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4258, the Family Self-
Sufficiency Act. This legislation will streamline a program designed to 
help those unable to purchase a home while reducing their dependency on 
welfare assistance and rental assistance provided by the government.
  I want to thank my colleague and friend from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) 
for all of his bipartisan and helpful work on this legislation. It 
passed out of our committee 58-0, which is somewhat historic for the 
Financial Services Committee.
  Now, the Family Self-Sufficiency Act, or FSS program, is focused on 
helping families in public housing and the housing choice voucher 
program. The goal is to utilize a number of services coordinated 
through the program to help families with individual training to 
increase their employability and become less dependent on assistance.
  These services can include basic education, childcare, 
transportation, education, financial literacy, mental health referrals, 
and homeownership counseling. While receiving services, an interest-
bearing escrow account is established for the family that can be used 
for any purpose once the family has graduated from the program.
  Currently, HUD operates one program for families served by the 
housing choice voucher program and a separate program for those 
families served by the public housing program. This legislation will 
combine those two separate FSS programs into one to streamline and 
reduce regulatory burdens.
  The bill also broadens the scope of supportive services that may be 
offered to these families to include attainment of a GED, education in 
pursuit of a postsecondary degree or certification, and--I think this 
is important--training in financial literacy. Lastly, H.R. 4258 opens 
the FSS program to families that live in privately owned properties 
that are subsidized by project-based rental assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, 4,793 families have successfully completed the program, 
with 1,557 graduates exiting rental assistance, within a year and 
another 606 graduates that eventually went on and were able to purchase 
a home. So more than 10 percent of the people who graduate from the 
program go on to buy a home.
  I want to leave you with just a quick anecdote on written testimony 
that came to our committee from the Compass Working Capital Group. It 
is a story about Tanya. She graduated from the FSS program in Lynn, 
Massachusetts.
  Now, when Tanya enrolled in the FSS program, she had been receiving 
housing assistance for about 4 years. She was working full-time and 
raising two children, but she had bigger dreams. One of those dreams 
was to one day own a house. At the time, Tanya believed that owning a 
home was, in her words, ``not for families like mine,'' a low-income 
single mother who came from a family where no one has ever owned a 
home.
  So when Tanya graduated from the program, she got the assistance, got 
the counseling, and in the end, she was able to increase her annual 
income by $8,000, improve her credit score 140 points, pay down her 
debt, and save $3,000. She graduated from the program in 2015 and 
achieved her dream of becoming a homeowner, the first person in her 
family to do so.
  She said: But what makes me happiest of all is seeing my children 
love their new home. Thanks to the Compass FSS program, now I, too, 
believe that families like mine can get ahead, live better, and 
accomplish our big dreams and goals such as buying a home.
  This is a remarkable story of a program that actually works, that 
helps people get from public assistance into self-sufficiency and 
hopefully into homeownership.
  I think it is this kind of artful review of policy that our committee 
has done on a bipartisan level that brings us to reforms that can look 
at the successes of a program and build upon those successes and make 
them work for more families.
  Again, I want to thank my colleagues and friends across the aisle for 
working on this legislation and, again, bringing it out with such a 
bipartisan vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4258, the Family Self-Sufficiency Act of 2017, 
makes several commonsense improvements to HUD's Family Self-Sufficiency 
program, or FSS, which is the only asset-building program at HUD to 
help increase economic opportunities for its low-income households.
  Anecdotally, Mr. Speaker, when I was a commissioner of a housing 
authority many years ago, I saw this program in action. It deals with 
one of the challenges of what happens to a family as their incomes go 
up and they find it increasingly hard to invest and save because their 
rents typically go up.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill expands the scope of supportive services 
provided to residents to include GED training, education, and pursuit 
of a post-secondary degree or certification and training in financial 
literacy.
  The bill also expands the program to include families who live in 
privately owned properties and ensures that low-

[[Page H181]]

income families can continue to participate in this program as their 
incomes increase. This is a particularly important improvement since 
under current law, once a family reaches 50 percent of area median 
income, they no longer are able to accrue additional savings in their 
escrow accounts. This bill fixes that issue.

  This bill is an important step in the right direction, and I hope we 
can continue to find ways to expand this very successful program beyond 
the current 72,000 households it can serve.
  I am glad to see that my friend from Wisconsin and my colleagues on 
the other side of the aisle recognize the success of this voluntary 
program, and I hope we can work together to find ways to improve it and 
to give energy to other programs which allow people to lift themselves 
out of lower income circumstances.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill was passed out of committee 58-0. I urge my 
colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Cleaver).
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, let me, first of all, state the obvious. I 
am rising to support H.R. 4258, the Family Self-Sufficiency Act.
  I would like to thank Chairman Duffy for the spirit of bipartisanship 
that he has demonstrated on this and on other legislation as well; and 
Mr. Himes, the gentleman from Connecticut, who is managing this piece 
of legislation. It is also appropriate to thank the chair and the 
ranking member of the committee for giving their support to this piece 
of legislation.
  H.R. 4258 would make important updates to the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development Family Self-Sufficiency program, the FSS program, 
which is a voluntary program that encourages residents who use housing 
vouchers or who live in public housing to connect with program 
coordinators to create self-sufficiency plans, obtain educational 
resources, and pursue work opportunities.
  This program also creates an interest-bearing escrow account for 
participants that can be accessed upon graduation from the program. 
Money from this account can be used for job-related expenses or as 
savings for a home.
  I deviate from my written comments to say that there are a number of 
great stories like Tanya's that Mr. Duffy shared. As a 5-year resident 
of public housing when I was growing up, during that time my father was 
working on three jobs trying to save money for a house and to buy what 
became his first car. Our first car was an Oldsmobile Rocket 88--Rocket 
88 I want emphasize--and it was the pride of our family and our 
community, frankly, when that happened. But it would have been 
infinitely easier if there had been some kind of escrow account that my 
father could have moved money into to save so that when he found that 
lot and the house that he lives in today, that would have been money 
right there available for him to pay down on it or pay it off. It seems 
like a lot of money then, but the lot was $5,000, and the money that he 
could have saved over that period of time could have been so 
significant. We managed to do it anyway.
  This program would help countless numbers of people who want to take 
advantage of the help that the Federal Government can give them with 
housing but at the same time work and strive toward independence. That 
is what I think the great value of this program is.
  I don't want to repeat what has already been said, so I want to just 
give you a list of the organizations supporting this legislation: the 
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Preservation of Affordable 
Housing, the National Leased Housing Association, the National Low 
Income Housing Coalition, Compass Working Capital, National Association 
of Housing Redevelopment Officials, Housing Partnership Network, the 
National Housing Trust, and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the 
Future.
  A similar version of this bill was introduced by Senator Reed and 
Senator Blunt from my home State of Missouri over in the Senate, and I 
am encouraged by this bipartisanship and the bicameral process.
  I am also hopeful that we can continue to work, as Mr. Himes said, on 
further improvements of housing resources all across the country, and I 
urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to briefly say in closing that we oftentimes find 
people who get stuck in a cycle of poverty. I think the goal of the 
program should be to help people get out of poverty and get to self-
sufficiency.

                              {time}  1630

  If you look at this program, it takes an initiative by the person in 
FSS to say: I am going to raise my hand; I want to take advantage of 
these opportunities. It is about helping them get an education.
  I have 8 kids, and I have a wife. For a single mom with a couple of 
kids who is trying to go to school or do job training or get a job, 
without some help on child care, that can't work. You can't make that 
happen. That is offered in this program.
  Again, it offers additional education, financial literacy training, 
and counseling on home ownership. If you have some mental health 
issues, you can get training in that.
  It is what is right about government, in the sense we don't want 
people to get stuck. We don't want people to get caught in a cycle of 
poverty, we want to help lift them up, and it is this kind of a program 
with these kinds of reforms that I think we have worked together on 
that accomplishes that goal: help people live the American Dream, which 
is get a job that allows them to eventually save enough money and buy a 
house. On the escrow part of this, when you get out of the program, you 
might have a small, little nest egg that you can use as a deposit for 
that home.
  So I think this is a great program that does the right thing. If you 
are a Liberal or a Conservative, no matter what side of the political 
spectrum you sit on, this program is making the government work for 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4258, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. DUFFY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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