Date: 2003-06-17
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I enjoyed the one comment: "This resolution is here so *Republicans can just talk about affordable housing." The gentleman from Massachusetts and I. we do agree on one major issue: there is a huge shortage of affordable housing in this country. I believe we both have a passion in common to try to resolve this problem. Earlier this year. I brought a bill up before our committee on brownflelds. Brownfields are contaminated sites within inner cities where the infrastructure is in lplace and the need for affordable housing is there. The gentleman from Massachusetts has worked hand in hand with me to bring this to the floor. but because of a lack of agreement on his side of the aisle. none to his blame. we are unable to do that because one Member wants to define brownflelds using an EPA definition. The gentleman from Massachusetts and I realize that if you do that you eliminate petroleum sites which are 50 percent of the half million sites in this country. So he and I have worked to resolve something and others are giving lip service to this issue. There has been much talk about subsidies. We deal with section 8 housing and the need for section 8 housing. We come to an agreement that there is a need for that. But in Los Angeles County. we had the housing authority -here. I asked them the question of what is your occupancy rate in California. in L.A. County? They said. we are 97 percent occupied. That means 3 percent of the units that are not occupied are under renovation. Basically. they are 100 percent full. They have no available section 8 housing for people to go to. We can increase section 8 vouchers causing more money to chase no product. and all it does is increase the cost of the product. But there have been things that have been said here today. We need subsidies which we do provide some. The President has come up with a great idea. He said. let us allow people to take section 8 vouchers. up to 12. and apply them as a down payment to buy a home. That is a great idea. I hope the appropriators this year will fund that program. What we are saying is people who have been locked Into section 8 housing can now take the money they would have received in 12 months and put it as a down payment to buy a home. so 10 years. 15 or 20 years from now their payment isthe same as it is today. not rising as it does in rental housing. We need to create homeownership rather than just create renters in this country. There has been a comment made about we need a housing producti6n program. We have that in this program. It is called the Building Industry Association. But government does everything it can to stop builders from providing affordable homes in this country. We have so many mandates on builders. I remember 30 years ago when I entered the industry. you could go out within a matter of 2 months and make application on a tract map to build a tract of homes. whether it be five. 10 or 15. and in 60 days you had entitlements. yes or no. They bad to do it because on day 59 you were approved by law. I talk to builders today that have been 3. 4. 5. 8. 10 years processing subdivisions trying to provide affordable housing for the people of this country and they cannot get through the process. I spend more time helping builders with Fish and Wildlife and Army Corps of Engineers issues. One thing I wish the other side of the aisle would agree to do and that is reform the Endangered Species Act. In Colton. California. there is one project that has 3.000 homes on 3.000 acres. They are only wanting to develop about 300andsomething of those acres. but they happen to have a rat on that property. It is called the San Bernardino kangaroo rat. It is becoming extinct. People who love rats want to set aside habitat for these rats. but they always want to set the habitat aside on privately owned property. That means somebody who owns a piece of land. all of a sudden the