[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 122 (Tuesday, July 13, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E755-E756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING MICHAEL MIRRA ON HIS RETIREMENT AND THANKING HIM FOR 
                         SERVING HIS COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 13, 2021

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to 
congratulate Michael Mirra

[[Page E756]]

on a well-earned retirement and thank him for nearly two decades of 
service to the Tacoma Housing Authority.
  The positive impact Michael has had on his community cannot be 
overstated. He has diligently served as Executive Director of Tacoma 
Housing Authority for the last 17 years, where in that time he helped 
countless people and substantially improved the Tacoma Housing 
Authority by growing the number of units and increasing the reach of 
their services. Prior to this role, Michael was a highly successful 
litigator who represented homeless families and poor neighborhoods in 
several high-profile legal cases.
  Under Michael's leadership, the Tacoma Housing Authority completed a 
reconstruction project of 200 urban acres costing $250 million in 
Tacoma's Salishan neighborhood. Not only was this the largest project 
in Tacoma's history, but also the largest West of the Mississippi. The 
project increased the total number of units under the Tacoma Housing 
Authority by 29 percent.
  Michael also spearheaded innovative ways to use federal housing 
dollars to further benefit families. With the Education Project, 
Michael was able to help the children of families working with the 
Tacoma Housing Authority succeed in public schools and pay for the 
college education of students experiencing homelessness. Michael was 
instrumental in finding new ways to use funds and enlisted local 
developers to incorporate low-income housing into market-rate 
developments.
  He also established the Tacoma Housing Authority as a Moving to Work 
agency, becoming just one of 39 in the country. Moving to Work agencies 
are given the flexibility to test innovative, locally designed 
strategies to use federal resources more efficiently and help residents 
find employment to become financially stable in the long-term. This 
work was absolutely critical in piloting a new approach to more 
effectively and efficiently using Federal housing resources to serve 
low income communities. Not only do they help these families become 
economically stable, but they also increase housing options for low-
income families. In 2016, in recognition of his distinguished career, 
Michael was awarded the Margaret M. Sevy Lifetime Achievement Award by 
the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.
  Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to honor Michael Mirra on an 
outstanding career in public service, thank him for serving his 
community so well, and congratulate him on retiring.