Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act Of 2009

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Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my strong support for H.R. 1675, the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Act. I commend Representatives Christopher Murphy (CT) and Judy Biggert (IL) for introducing this bill and I also thank my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee for passing this bill and bringing it to the floor this week.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, this legislation makes several important changes to the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program. This bill is strongly supported by a wide array of disability advocacy groups, in particular the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), a group of 100 national disability organizations which includes The Arc of the United States, United Cerebral Palsy, the National Disability Rights Network, the American Network of Community Options and Resources, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Easter Seals, United Spinal Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Brain Injury Association.

John Chafee--the late Senator from Rhode Island and a true champion for disabled Americans--always made it clear that ``your abilities, not your disabilities, will determine your future.'' As a recipient of the John Chafee Leadership in Public Policy Award in 2002, I am always mindful of his vision.

I have long advocated for public housing programs, particularly for those that would benefit those with disabilities. Disabled Americans, like all Americans, deserve equal access to fundamental resources such as housing. In particular, I worked to ensure that vouchers were not lost when disabled people moved.

An estimated 50,000 non-elderly, disabled vouchers were funded by Congress between FY 1997 and FY 2001. Funding for these vouchers is estimated at $250-$275 million annually. Approximately 400 Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) administer these vouchers.

These incremental vouchers for non-elderly, disabled individuals and families were intended to replace housing for non-elderly people with disabilities lost as a result of the ``elderly only'' designation of public and assisted housing since 1993.

The CCD Housing Task Force estimated that the loss due to this designation has approached 500,000 units since 1992, including 100,000 public housing units and 400,000 assisted housing units.

To correct HUD's misinterpretation of Congressional intent, the House of Representatives has gone on the record on numerous occasions since 2000. Congress has clarified the policy that ``turnover'' vouchers should continue to be provided to certain people with disabilities as provided by Congress.

Language was included both in advisory reports for appropriations bills, and following continued inaction by HUD, actual bill language that was included in Conference reports signed by the President.

It was not until February 2005 that HUD issued guidance to PHAs detailing their ongoing obligation to ensure that these vouchers remain targeted upon turnover to the disabled population Congress intended.

Therefore, we've been fortunate to finally make ``real'' progress for disabled Americans. Through efforts in Congress, including my work on the House Appropriations Committee, each of the Fiscal Year 2008 and 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bills included $30 million for new incremental vouchers to be specifically targeted towards disabled and homeless veteran populations.

This will insure that existing vouchers for those populations are not rolled over into ``mainstream'' voucher programs that primarily benefit older Americans.

This legislation greatly reforms the Section 811 program, including new programs to remove outdated regulatory barriers and better track the status of vouchers that are currently in use. By doing so, this bill greatly expands on recent progress that the Congress has made with regard to our nation's housing programs.

Again, Mr. Speaker, similar legislation was unanimously passed by the House under Suspension of the Rules in September 2008 and I am happy to see that the current Congress has made it a priority to see this legislation become law.

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