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Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2019

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 10, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Housing and Property

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Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Guam for yielding. And Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H.R. 3620, the Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Act of 2019, which would address the need to repair and renovate the existing USDA rural housing stock and the best way to deal with maturing loans.

Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to support this commonsense legislation, and here is why:

The stock of affordable homes supported by USDA's Section 515, Rural Rental Housing Loans and Section 514, Farm Labor Housing Loans is old and in need of repair.

However, the USDA has been unable to come up with a clear plan to preserve these homes and ensure residents are not displaced, putting them at risk of housing instability, and in worst cases, homelessness.

This bill permanently authorizes the Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization program and provides $1 billion in funding over 5 years. This will give the USDA the tools and funding necessary to come up with a comprehensive strategy for preservation and avoid tenant displacement for some of our most vulnerable.

And the bill also, as mentioned, establishes an advisory committee that includes a diverse range of stakeholders to advise the USDA on how to implement its plan for preservation.

Section 515 and 514 are USDA-backed multifamily loans providing low interest, long-term multifamily loans to support affordable rental housing.

There are approximately 14,000 Section 515 and 514 properties across the country that are home to nearly 400,000 families, and as was stated, they have an average income of $13,000, which my colleagues will recognize is well below the poverty line.

Although my congressional district is not considered rural, the State of Missouri certainly is, and in many ways is symbolic of rural states and communities across this Nation, and this bill will help them and many of the most vulnerable people who work in rural communities across America.

And as I stated at our hearing in April on this legislation and at our markup in July, as chairman, I fully intend to ensure that this subcommittee engages in the housing issues facing all Americans, and I think that is a good start.

Mr. Speaker, again, I look forward to my colleagues' support.

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