Hope VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2007
HOPE VI IMPROVEMENT AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - January 17, 2008)
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Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and chairing this important subcommittee and her hard work on this bill, along with Chairman Frank, and I rise in very strong support of the revitalization, reauthorization of an important program, HOPE VI.
This legislation will increase the annual authorization from $100 million to $800 million, and it is really a funding housing crisis, affordable housing crisis in our Nation. This funding and this program is desperately needed.
In New York City alone, over tens of thousands of people are on the waiting list for public housing. This bill requires that all public housing units proposed for demolition be replaced on a one-for-one basis and that any units demolished will be replaced within 36 months. This is tremendously important because people in public housing have no other place to go.
It adds additional tenant protections by requiring public housing agencies to monitor and track all households affected by the HOPE VI revitalization program, as well as develop a relocation plan that provides comparable housing for all relocated residents.
In an effort to be better stewards of our environment, this bill requires all replacement housing and other structures part of the HOPE VI development to be built in accordance with flexible green building standards, and it's appropriate for the government to have high environmental standards. It will be more energy efficient in the future and, in the long run, will save taxpayers dollars.
This bill continues a really important program that revitalizes severely distressed public housing and transforms them into safe, livable communities. And since its creation, it has provided over 560 grants, and Congress has appropriated over $6.6 billion in funding.
It has helped public housing authorities create relationships with the private sector and open up opportunities to bring partnerships that bring in much-needed resources into struggling communities.
For example, by 2004, 92 public housing authorities have used $313 million capital funds to leverage over $1 billion in private investment. These funds have been used to modernize and redevelop public housing.
With the crisis in safe, affordable housing we are seeing in our country, it is my hope that with our reauthorization of this important legislation we can continue the successes of this program.
I really urge my colleagues to support this program that is vitally needed.
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