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

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MR. WATT. Mr. Chairman, I just want to rise in support of the amendment. A number of us have worked hard for a number of different years to save, reauthorize, and fund the HOPE VI program.

The gentleman is right: they have funds in the process, but you can't revitalize communities overnight. They seem to have lost sight of the fact that it takes a long time to rebuild a community that starts off being dilapidated public housing. You have to tear it down, you have to enter into public-private ventures around that community to restore housing, and that takes time.

When people criticize the fact that there is money in the pipeline that has not been expended, that simply reaffirms the purpose for which HOPE VI was initiated in the first place, to restore communities, not to just build houses. That takes time. We need this money to continue the process.

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