[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 43 (Monday, March 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2618-H2620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER MOBILITY DEMONSTRATION ACT OF 2019

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1122) to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development to carry out a housing choice voucher mobility 
demonstration to encourage families receiving such voucher assistance 
to move to lower-poverty areas and expand access to opportunity areas.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1122

       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 ``Housing Choice Voucher 
     Mobility Demonstration Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER MOBILITY DEMONSTRATION.

       (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development (in this section referred to as the 
     ``Secretary'') may carry out a mobility demonstration program 
     to enable public housing agencies to administer housing 
     choice voucher assistance under section 8(o) of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) in a manner 
     designed to encourage families receiving such voucher 
     assistance to move to lower-poverty areas and expand access 
     to opportunity areas.
       (b) Selection of PHAs.--
       (1) Requirements.--The Secretary shall establish 
     requirements for public housing agencies to participate in 
     the demonstration program under this section, which shall 
     provide that the following public housing agencies may 
     participate:
       (A) Public housing agencies that together--
       (i) serve areas with high concentrations of holders of 
     rental assistance vouchers under section 8(o) of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) in poor, low-
     opportunity neighborhoods; and
       (ii) have an adequate number of moderately priced rental 
     units in higher-opportunity areas.
       (B) Planned consortia or partial consortia of public 
     housing agencies that--
       (i) include at least one agency with a high-performing 
     Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program; and
       (ii) will enable participating families to continue in such 
     program if they relocate to the jurisdiction served by any 
     other agency of the consortium.
       (C) Planned consortia or partial consortia of public 
     housing agencies that--
       (i) serve jurisdictions within a single region;
       (ii) include one or more small agencies; and
       (iii) will consolidate mobility focused operations.
       (D) Such other public housing agencies as the Secretary 
     considers appropriate.
       (2) Selection criteria.--The Secretary shall establish 
     competitive selection criteria for public housing agencies 
     eligible under paragraph (1) to participate in the 
     demonstration program under this section.

[[Page H2619]]

       (3) Random selection of families.--The Secretary may 
     require participating agencies to use a randomized selection 
     process to select among the families eligible to receive 
     mobility assistance under the demonstration program.
       (c) Regional Housing Mobility Plan.--The Secretary shall 
     require each public housing agency applying to participate in 
     the demonstration program under this section to submit a 
     Regional Housing Mobility Plan (in this section referred to 
     as a ``Plan''), which shall--
       (1) identify the public housing agencies that will 
     participate under the Plan and the number of vouchers each 
     participating agency will make available out of their 
     existing programs in connection with the demonstration;
       (2) identify any community-based organizations, nonprofit 
     organizations, businesses, and other entities that will 
     participate under the Plan and describe the commitments for 
     such participation made by each such entity;
       (3) identify any waivers or alternative requirements 
     requested for the execution of the Plan;
       (4) identify any specific actions that the public housing 
     agencies and other entities will undertake to accomplish the 
     goals of the demonstration, which shall include a 
     comprehensive approach to enable a successful transition to 
     opportunity areas and may include counseling and continued 
     support for families;
       (5) specify the criteria that the public housing agencies 
     would use to identify opportunity areas under the plan;
       (6) provide for establishment of priority and preferences 
     for participating families, including a preference for 
     families with young children, as such term is defined by the 
     Secretary, based on regional housing needs and priorities; 
     and
       (7) comply with any other requirements established by the 
     Secretary.
       (d) Funding for Mobility-Related Services.--
       (1) Use of administrative fees.--Public housing agencies 
     participating in the demonstration program under this section 
     may use administrative fees under section 8(q) of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)), their 
     administrative fee reserves, and funding from private 
     entities to provide mobility-related services in connection 
     with the demonstration program, including services such as 
     counseling, portability coordination, landlord outreach, 
     security deposits, and administrative activities associated 
     with establishing and operating regional mobility programs.
       (2) Use of housing assistance funds.--Public housing 
     agencies participating in the demonstration under this 
     section may use housing assistance payments funds under 
     section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for security deposits if necessary to enable 
     families to lease units with vouchers in designated 
     opportunity areas.
       (e) Waivers; Alternative Requirements.--
       (1) Waivers.--To allow for public housing agencies to 
     implement and administer their Regional Housing Mobility 
     Plans, the Secretary may waive or specify alternative 
     requirements for the following provisions of the United 
     States Housing Act of 1937:
       (A) Sections 8(o)(7)(A) and 8(o)(13)(E)(i) (relating to the 
     term of a lease and mobility requirements).
       (B) Section 8(o)(13)(C)(i) (relating to the public housing 
     plan for an agency).
       (C) Section 8(r)(2) (relating to the responsibility of a 
     public housing agency to administer ported assistance).
       (2) Alternative requirements.--The Secretary shall provide 
     additional authority for public housing agencies in a 
     selected region to form a consortium that has a single 
     housing choice voucher funding contract, or to enter into a 
     partial consortium to operate all or portions of the Regional 
     Housing Mobility Plan, including agencies participating in 
     the Moving To Work Demonstration program.
       (3) Effective date.--Any waiver or alternative requirements 
     pursuant to this subsection shall not take effect before the 
     expiration of the 10-day period beginning upon publication of 
     notice of such waiver or alternative requirement in the 
     Federal Register.
       (f) Implementation.--The Secretary may implement the 
     demonstration, including its terms, procedures, requirements, 
     and conditions, by notice.
       (g) Evaluation.--Not later than 5 years after 
     implementation of the regional housing mobility programs 
     under the demonstration program under this section, the 
     Secretary shall submit to the Congress and publish in the 
     Federal Register a report evaluating the effectiveness of the 
     strategies pursued under the demonstration, subject to the 
     availability of funding to conduct the evaluation. Through 
     official websites and other methods, the Secretary shall 
     disseminate interim findings as they become available, and 
     shall, if promising strategies are identified, notify the 
     Congress of the amount of funds that would be required to 
     expand the testing of these strategies in additional types of 
     public housing agencies and housing markets.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Luetkemeyer) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, rigorous studies have demonstrated that giving a low-
income family an opportunity to move to a lower-poverty neighborhood 
can have a profound impact, particularly for children.
  For example, one study found that young boys and girls in families 
that used a voucher to move to lower-poverty neighborhoods were 32 
percent more likely to attend college and earned 31 percent more, or 
nearly $3,500 a year, compared to their counterparts in families who 
did not receive a voucher.
  Unfortunately, families with housing choice vouchers who want to move 
to a better neighborhood can face significant challenges, particularly 
if it involves moving from one public housing agency jurisdiction to 
another. In fact, data shows that only one in eight families with 
children with a housing choice voucher use their vouchers to live in 
lower-poverty areas.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1122 would help reduce barriers to mobility by 
establishing a demonstration program that would enable and incentivize 
public housing agencies to come together to come up with a regional 
plan to increase mobility across their jurisdictions.
  This is a bipartisan proposal that was included in HUD budget 
requests under the Obama administration. Further, $25 million in 
funding for this demonstration was included in fiscal year 2019 funding 
bill for HUD programs, and a version of this bill passed the House last 
Congress 368 to 19.
  This demonstration will not only provide thousands of families with 
opportunities to move to better neighborhoods, but it will also lay the 
foundation for how successful outcomes can be replicated at a larger 
scale across the country.
  I congratulate the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver) and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy) for introducing this initiative.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1122, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1122, the Housing Choice 
Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act of 2019.
  As currently administered, housing vouchers often are insufficient in 
helping American families get access to neighborhoods with greater 
opportunities. That is why H.R. 1122 is so important.
  A strong body of research shows that growing up in a safe, lower-
poverty neighborhood with good schools improves children's academic 
achievement and long-term chances of success, and may reduce 
intergenerational poverty.
  A recent groundbreaking Harvard study found that young children in 
families who used housing vouchers to move to better neighborhoods 
fared much better as young adults than similar children who remained in 
extremely poor neighborhoods.
  The Harvard study found that young boys and girls in families who use 
a voucher to move to lower-poverty neighborhoods were 32 percent more 
likely to attend college and earned 31 percent more as young adults 
than their counterparts in families who did not receive an MTO voucher. 
Girls in families who moved to lower-poverty neighborhoods were also 30 
percent less likely to be single parents as adults.
  And let us not forget that location also affects adults in many ways, 
such as access to jobs, the cost of getting to work, the feasibility of 
balancing child care responsibilities with work schedules, and other 
basic goods and services.
  Voucher mobility is key to enabling families with children to move to 
safer neighborhoods with less poverty, thereby enhancing their chances 
of long-

[[Page H2620]]

term health and success. H.R. 1122 will provide the foundation for many 
of these key changes.
  I thank Mr. Duffy and Mr. Cleaver for their hard work in looking into 
this issue and providing evidence-based solutions to affect positive 
change in families and communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 1122, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Cleaver), the chair of the Subcommittee on National 
Security, International Development and Monetary Policy.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, this piece of legislation is particularly 
significant to me. I lived in public housing for 5 years. I saw what 
the possibilities were there. I saw people who did not make it, and I 
saw people who did made it.
  The one thing that I found difficult to accept was the fact that if 
you lived in public housing, almost every rule made was designed, 
unintentionally, to keep you in public housing.
  My father didn't tell the truth about the fact that he was cleaning 
up at an office building on Saturday earning some additional money and 
then serving at parties on the weekends. He had to pretend that that 
didn't happen because he was saving money trying to get our family in 
our own home. And it worked. He is watching C-SPAN right now, hearing 
his son talk about what could have happened.
  The essence of this bill was passed as a part of the appropriations 
package that was signed into law earlier this year. It promotes housing 
mobility for individuals who rely on housing vouchers.

  Under this bill, the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
would establish a demonstration program to allow interested public 
housing agencies to form consortia to enhance mobility and provide 
residents with increased opportunity to move to higher-income 
communities.
  There is something contagious about working around only poor people. 
If you live in a neighborhood and all you see are people who are 
struggling, it is easy to come to the conclusion that that is the way 
life is: that you are just supposed to struggle and that you are just 
supposed to barely make it. If you don't see the signs of people who 
are making progress--people who are achieving--you might come to the 
conclusion that achievement is beyond one's reach.
  This was demonstrated with a research project from Harvard economists 
Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, and Lawrence Katz which indicates that 
children who move to higher-opportunity neighborhoods increase their 
chances of success. More specifically, the study found that children 
who were able to use housing vouchers to move to lower-poverty areas 
were 32 percent more likely to attend college and earned 31 percent 
more a year than their counterparts in lower-income neighborhoods.
  This bill removes barriers by providing families with the tools to 
navigate a move from one neighborhood to another. H.R. 1122 will allow 
more families to thrive by increasing their access to higher performing 
schools, employment opportunities, fresh and affordably priced foods, 
and safe playgrounds.
  There is something about homeownership or living in a nice 
neighborhood. Our family was able to move out. My father bought a house 
in a White neighborhood where we could not live and had it moved at 
night from the Midwestern Parkway to Gerald Street, where my father 
lives today. And, my goodness, I wish the world could see what 
transpired.
  My father's yard is in contention with any yard in town for the yard 
of the summer. We had a water shortage in Texas--we had a drought, a 
serious drought 38 years ago--and my father would get up at 3 a.m. in 
the morning to trick the city people who would come out checking to see 
if anybody was violating the water ordinance by watering his lawn at 2, 
3, or 4 a.m. in the morning.
  While I am confessing my father broke the law, the truth of the 
matter is that it pleased me because we had never had a yard in my life 
until we were able to get out of public housing. So not only does it 
give the children an opportunity for a higher achievement 
educationally, but it also does something for the homeowner.
  This bill removes barriers, and I am supportive of that.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Missouri.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, friend, and former 
neighbor, Sean Duffy, who worked with me on this bill. And I also thank 
the chair and the ranking member of the committee for their continued 
support.
  With this, I am hopeful that we can continue working across the aisle 
to promote housing opportunity for all of our constituents.
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my support for the bill.
  I thank Mr. Cleaver for his personal testimony today. It was very 
compelling. It is a tremendous story of success in the use of these 
things and how changing our neighborhoods can really be helpful.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1615

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we were able to work in a 
bipartisan manner on this initiative. This bill shows that we can 
foster new ideas and help improve services and flexibility for our 
citizens who are receiving housing assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer) 
for his engagement on the bill, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1122.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. WATERS. 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.

                          ____________________