Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007

TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 -- (House of Representatives - June 13, 2006)

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Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment with my friend and colleague from Alabama (Mr. Davis). This would restore the funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOPE VI programs.

Created in 1992 to renovate existing public housing sites and replace them with new mixed-income housing, the HOPE VI grant program has been remarkably successful at revitalizing some of our most troubled and distressed communities. We have all seen stories of the conditions that exist in public housing developments throughout the Nation, dilapidated buildings and homes, infestations of insects and rodents, barely functional plumbing and sewage, high rates of violence and crime. These are the conditions that have overtaken too many of our public housing facilities, the conditions in which too many families are struggling to live and raise children.

This program is aptly named because hope is exactly what these grants bring to communities. I can speak firsthand of the outstanding results of this program. In the City of Bradenton, Florida, we have already been completely revitalized as a result of HOPE VI grants.

The result is Bradenton Village, a successful partnership between the local government, the private sector, and the Federal Government to restore and revitalize a community that only a few years ago was crumbling and suffering. Today, Bradenton Village is a vibrant and thriving area and a testament to HOPE VI grants. That success is not limited to Florida.

This remarkable program has been responsible for rebuilding substandard housing and replacing it with quality, affordable housing across the country. It is not just about bricks and mortar. By creating more options, giving a consumer more and better choices in housing, education, job training and job placement, HOPE VI grants transform lives.

If this amendment is adopted, the HOPE VI program can continue to deliver upon its promises. The Davis-Harris amendment seeks to restore $30 million to the HOPE VI program so that they can continue in their mission of revitalizing American communities. This $30 million is a far cry from the funding HOPE VI has received in the past; it is less than a third of the $99 million that the program received last year, for example, but it is enough to keep the program alive so that we can continue to help these communities where it is making such a tremendous difference.

The amendment is fiscally responsible, as the $30 million we are requesting for HOPE VI will be offset by reducing funding HUD's Management and Administrative Salaries and Expense Funds. Additionally, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the amendment budget authority is neutral and as a result, a net outlay savings of $22 million.

I know some of my colleagues have been concerned about the administration of the HOPE VI program. There have been complaints that the funds are not dispersed as swiftly or as efficiently as they could be. I share some of those concerns, and I want to see the program operate at maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

If the management of the program can be made more effective, by all means let us make it more effective. But let us not give up on the program just when it is making a difference in people's lives. Let us not give up on HOPE VI. Let us not give up on the strength and possibilities of our communities. I urge my colleagues to support the Davis-Harris amendment. Let us keep hope alive.

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Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to address an affordable housing crisis facing this Nation's most vulnerable populations.

Let me begin by recognizing the work of Chairman Knollenberg and the committee in crafting this bill. In particular, I commend the committee's work in addressing critical housing needs. However, I rise today to offer an amendment to strengthen an extremely important housing program for our Nation's low-income seniors and persons with disabilities.

HUD's section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program funds capital development grants and rental assistance contracts for nonprofit housing sponsors to develop and maintain housing.

Since its inception in 1959, the program has demonstrated how a successful partnership between public-private entities can maximize efficiency and quality of a Federal housing program as well as enhancing the sense of independence and self-reliance so important to the mental health of our seniors.

HUD's section 811, Disabled Housing Program, is the only HUD program that offers accessible and affordable supportive housing for nonelderly, low-income persons with disabilities. The program provides safe and affordable housing for people with the most severe disabilities who rely on SSI income of $600 or less per month.

Funds in this program are used to develop and improve fully wheelchair-accessible units of permanent supportive housing and to foster the integration of citizens with disabilities into open housing rather than confining them to nursing homes, public institutions, or imposing them on families and friends.

The section 811 program is supported by groups including the United Cerebral Palsy Association, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Arc of the United States.

As importantly, the restoration of funds would be offset by $12 million reductions in Housing and Urban Development Management and Administration and $3 million in General Services Administration costs, so there is no additional cost to America's taxpayers. In fact, CBO scores this amendment as a net outlay savings of $11 million.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would not bust the budget, nor would it expand the size of government. Simply put, it would increase the opportunities available to seniors and the disabled to find the affordable, safe and secure housing that they deserve. I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.

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Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I want to commend the chairman for the bill which addresses important issues, including transportation, the war on drugs and Judiciary, and critical housing needs.

I acknowledge that there are robust funding levels for these programs in the underlying bill. However, our Nation's seniors in their golden years deserve access to affordable housing. We owe it to persons with disabilities to provide them with the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest.

This additional $15 million for these important programs is judicious from budgets of tens of hundreds of millions of dollars. But nonetheless, Congress must demonstrate its resolve to forthrightly pursue these important and noble goals.

I strongly urge my colleagues to step up and show your commitment to tackle the affordable housing crisis facing our Nation's most vulnerable citizens such as our seniors and persons with disabilities.

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