Date: 1981-06-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. Chairman. this is a historic day and a historic moment. Everything is very clear. we are in an utter state of confusion. As I was stating to the staff a few moments ago while listening to the debate taking place in the Committees on Agriculture. Armed Services. if we continue -to lose subsequent votes on tlhis side. perhaps the loyal opposition has. in fact. done us a favor. I say that because had we prevailed. we could well have been charged with being the ones who cut housing units from a 250.000 level recommended by the previous administration down to 176.000. But if the voting continues as it has up to now those people who are now living in ratinfested hovels. and dumps with leaky roofs and rotting floors with one light bulb to read by. will remain in those units. They will stay there because no safe. decent. sanitary housing will be available to them. I can say. though. when they complain. we can point and say. "We did our darndest. but youre going to have to wait and wait and the day may never come that you will get a decent. safe and sanitary house to live in." Addressing those Members from the Northeast. when all of a sudden the realization comes to the people that there. are not any weatherization grants available to them. and they come to me and complain. I will say. "All well and good. Talk to my colleagues from the Frost Belt who went along and voted to destroy this program." Oh. yes. they say they are folding the program into CDBG. but they are reducing CDBG while folding everything into it. The point soon comes that the fold becomes a wrinkle. and the next thing you know we will not be able to find those programs at all. About UDAG: I issue a clarion call right now to the mayors of this Nation that under the proposal we will be voting on. which will probably prevail. UDAG is going to disappear into the distance. The mayors of those many communities that were hoping to get some finds from CDBG. will have to go to their Governors and their State legislators to fight other mayors to determine where those CDBG funds will go because CDBG is going to be turned into a revenue sharing program. pure and simple. Under CDBG. housing assistance plans will go out the window. Tenant participation will go out the window. But when it comes to building new tennis courts. you bet your life. swimming pools. you bet your life. massage parlors. Swedish exercise trails. any of these things they can use CDBG funds for. But what happens to the poor. the needy. the disadvantaged. the disabled. the handicapped. who knows? It depends on how powerful a voting element they are in the particular state or the particular community. Mr. Chairman. as I said. maybe it is not so bad. because we on the Committee on Banking came within the GrammLatta numbers. in fact. exceeded those cut targets and we would have been charged with reducing and eliminating many laudatory. worthwhile and necessary programs. But is being taken out of our hands. We attempted to exercise damage control. but even that has been taken away from us. There has been great talk about hearings. thorough hearings. and thorough understanding of legislation. Throughout this we have had trouble getting information from the Republicans. The administration plan came to the Subcommittee on Housing the last day of the hearings. Hearings had gone on for 3 weeks and they knew long ahead of time that these hearings were going to be held. We held hearings. considered carefully and that which we have in our bill is the result of that. and it makes sense. Suddenly. after all that work things change overnight. A good portion of the funding that may come out of assisted housing will go to the ExIm Bank. to Boeing. to General Electric. to the giant corporations of this Nation. Certainly. the substitute says. we have got money for them. but. by golly. we do not have it for the elderly. for the handicapped and for the disad. vantaged. Frankly. I have not had an opportu nity to thoroughly study the print that was submitted last night. We will have further debate on this comes the amendatory process tomorrow. I understand we are going to have a full 4 hours to consider it. Quite a deal. I do know that in our committee. we spent the time. We deliberated. We understand our programs and we voted in a responsible. responsive manner. I would sleep well tonight and tomorrow night and all the nights ahead if only my conscience was the only thing concerned. but I may not sleep out of concern about the people who are no longer going to be receiving the benefits to which they may not be entitled. but which they are in need of if they are to survive.