Date: 1987-12-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. on November 9. the House. by a vote of 391 to 1. approved the conference report to accompany S. 825. the Housing and Community Development Authorization Act of 1987. When this conference report was considered in the Senate on November 13. points of order were raised on the conference report for being in violation of section 311 of the Budget Act under the Senate rules. The Senate was unable to get the necessary 60 votes to override the Budget Act violations. so the conference report failed. Since November 13. diligent efforts have been pursued by Members of the Senate and the House. including both Democrat and Republican members of our conference committee on S. 825. to see if an agreement could be reached to get the necessary bipartisan support in the Senate. and possibly agreement from the administration. on a housing package close to that which was so overwhelmingly passed In the House. Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to present an agreement tonight that represents most of the provisions that the House has already approved when adopting the conference report on November 9. Certain programs were considered to be too controversial and the administration demanded that some 11 programs be terminated and some of our new initiatives. such as the Nehemiah Housing Opportunity Grant Program and the antidisplacement provision relating to UDAG and CDBG. be eliminated. In addition. several programmatic changes embodied in the conference agreement that related to housing assistance programs and CDBG were challenged as being unacceptable. These are all addressed in this agreement. Let me say to my colleagues that in accepting the Senate amendment we are rejecting the 1thhour demands that the conference report be rewritten and a vote of 391 to 1 by this body be ignored. However. there are changes from the conference agreement. First. the provisions subject to a point of order for Budget Act violations have been removed. Certain provisions that affect districts of a number of Members were involved with these deleted provisions pertaining to the provision dealing with the disposition of urban renewal land proceeds. I will state here that the Banking Committee. early in the next session. will report out a separate bill containing these provisions that affect a number of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Second. the demands made that we repeal immediately the HODAG Program and the section 235 Homeownership Assistance Program were rejected. Both programs are authorized for 2 additional fiscal years. My Committee on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs will review these two programs at the end of 2 years to decide on the continued authorization of the HODAG and the section 235 program. Third. the effort to curtail the Nehemiah Program was rejected and the program is authorized for fiscal years 1988 and 1989 with a provision to provide up to 15 percent of the units for families whose incomes do not exceed 115 percent of area median income. Fourth. the provision dealing with our efforts to continue the public housing eligibility of certain illegal aliens whose familys head of household was a citizen or a documented alien was modified to state that future eligibility be limited to citizens or persons who are documented aliens. In addition. the agreement would not result in those people who are already residing in public housing from being evicted because of their citizenship status without a determination on a casebycase basis where it is necessary to avoid the breakup of a family. The provision also provides for a deferral of the termination of assistance where it is necessary to permit the orderly transition of tenants to other alternative. affordable housing. Such deferrals would be for 6month periods. renewable for no more than 3 years. Fifth. the conference agreement relating to the CDBG/UDAG displacement provision was revised to eliminate the indirect assistance part of the provision. but would retain the requirements that families displaced due to the activities of UDAG and CDBG must be provided adequate housing on a 1to1 basis. Sixth. the agreement provides for a 2year demonstration of the voucher program in rural areas in up to 5 States using 5.000 vouchers in- fiscal year 1988 and 7.500 in fiscal year 1989. Seventh. the agreement would provide that the period in which the ceiling rents in public housing would apply would be for 3 years instead of the 5 years included in the conference agreement. . Eighth. the leadbased paint removal provision was modified as it relates to section 8 and other HUD housing programs. However. the requirement for the mandatory abatement procedures in public housing contained in the conference agreement is retained in this agreement. Ninth. the flood insurance provision relating to assistance to prevent imminent collapse of residential structures was retained but limited to a 2year period. Tenth. a GAO report is required on ways to minimize the longterm risk exposure of the Federal Government as it relates to public hospital insurance. Mr. Speaker. the effort to get a housing authorization bill as a separate standing piece of legislation has been a long and difficult task. I am pleased that this agreement tonight concludes this effort. and I urge all of my colleagues to support the motion to agree to the Senate amendment. For most programs .contained in this legislation. we provide a 2year authorization. However. for Nehemiah. section 235. and HODAG. the legislation specifically states that the program will "terminate" at the end of a 2year period. I understand that the committees intent is to review these programs prior to the end of the 2year period. I also understand that there is no presumption that these programs will not be reauthorized. Indeed. it is my understanding that there is no functional difference between a 2year authorizationin which the Congress would have to reauthorize a programand a termination of a program at the end of a 2year period. I further understand that any contract authority entered into during the 2year period in which the program is operating will continue beyond the end of that 2year period. Mr. Speaker. with that. I want to say to the Members: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.