[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19654]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         IN DEFENSE OF RENTERS

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                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 28, 2009

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, the House Financial 
Services Committee last week voted out by a large margin a bill to 
improve the way in which people who rent are treated under our Section 
8 Voucher Program.
  Madam Speaker, I believe that one of the contributing causes to the 
housing crisis that led to the economic crisis we now face was an 
insufficient recognition of the importance of decent rental housing, 
and the consequent push of people who were not economically suited to 
the task into homeownership. On July 5th, in the New York Daily News, 
former New York Mayor Ed Koch and a former aide of his, Robert Weiner, 
wrote an excellent article about the importance of this program. We are 
not yet finished with trying to improve the way in which renters are 
treated by federal policies, and this very thoughtful article by Ed 
Koch and Robert Weiner reminds us of how important it is to continue 
that job.

                  [From the Daily News, July 5, 2009]

          Renters Across America Need More Help From Congress

                     (By Ed Koch and Robert Weiner)

       While the recent anti-foreclosure bill signed by President 
     Obama is of assistance to the homeowners affected by the 
     current financial meltdown, the bill and its $13.6 billion of 
     housing recovery money have ignored the nearly one-third of 
     American households who rent, including more than 2 million 
     households in New York City.
       All these people also have a dream of having and staying in 
     a home--and they also need help from Congress, on the double. 
     Over the course of the last generation, things have gotten 
     progressively worse for renters--and the deep recession has 
     added insult to injury.
       When Congress passed the Housing and Community Development 
     Act in 1974, the law included a goal of closing the gap 
     between the rising cost of housing and the slower rate of 
     increase in wages. The Koch Amendment to that bill--which 
     established that a family should pay no more than 15%-20% of 
     their income in federally assisted housing, and that a 
     voucher (we now call this a Section 8 voucher)--would cover 
     the difference. After a compromise with the Senate, the cap 
     was set at 25%.
       Over the years, the successful program has been whittled 
     away by special interest groups and misdirected priorities. 
     In 1983, the percentage of a family's income that could go 
     towards rent was increased to 30%. That may sound like a 
     small but necessary increase given federal budgetary 
     constraints. However, many families that get Section 8 are 
     paying upwards of 40% and 50% of their income because they 
     cannot find an apartment that meets the established rent cap.
       It's not just the size of the individual voucher that's the 
     problem; it is the overall scope of the program. The federal 
     Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that 3 
     million families will receive aid under Section 8 this year. 
     The number of individuals in need is far greater. The New 
     York City Housing Authority reports there are 127,825 New 
     York families on the wait list.
       Their hopes for affordable housing are dependent on the 
     chance that their number is picked out of a hat.
       The Federal Housing Administration advocates that a family 
     should spend no more than 30% of their income on housing. In 
     2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than half of 
     renters exceeded this guideline, with almost a quarter of 
     renters spending more than 50%. The situation is particularly 
     dire in New York, where nearly one in three New Yorkers use 
     half of their income on rent.
       It shouldn't surprise us that one very immediate 
     consequence of all this is homelessness. New York City alone, 
     there has been a 65% increase in the use of homeless shelters 
     since 1998 and a 23% increase since 2002. Even at these 
     record numbers--36,218 were in shelters as of May 31--a 
     shelter, though a wonderful resource, is not a permanent 
     home, and shelters only house a tiny fraction of the 
     homeless. While a virtually immeasurable number, the New York 
     City Coalition for the Homeless believes homelessness this 
     decade is ``the greatest since the Great Depression.''
       In Congress, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Cal.) and Barney Frank 
     (D-Mass.), the chairs of the House Housing Subcommittee and 
     the full Financial Services Committee, are moving forward 
     with Section 8 housing reform after the July 4 recess. The 
     White House and Congress can help the third of Americans who 
     rent by going back to the guidelines set by the Housing Act 
     of 1974--increasing the availability of Section 8 housing 
     vouchers, assuring that families pay no more than 30% of 
     their income on housing and using the rent limit as a model 
     for other low income housing. This would not be a bailout for 
     renters, but a return to the protection needed to enable 
     people to pay their rent and remain in their homes.
       Congress must make sure that all citizens, including 
     renters, who are often the poorest Americans, have roofs over 
     their head. That's not too much to ask in America.
       Koch is a former mayor of New York City and member of 
     Congress. Weiner was legislative assistant to Koch.

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