Date: 2007-07-12
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. we have been working on housing issues for several years. I think we do have a very good job inthis House coming to an agreement. Moving to the Senate. for some reason. things just dont happen as they should on that side of the Capitol. But we have got tremendous housing shortages in this country that we have to deal with. We have to work on HOPE VI program to be more innovative to allow the private sector to get involved. We need to be able to take and move people through the system for public housing section 8 vouchers. But the area we are really hurting in in this country is the moveup marketplace for people coming out of section 8. coming out of public housing and to be able to move into a house thats affordable. We all have problems in many of our districts where our children go away to college. we know people who. when their kids come back. they cant afford to live in the communities in which they were raised. We know many people who may be a school teacher. a police officer. a fireman. who drive 2 hours back and forth to work because they cant afford to live within the community in which they work. That should be a focus of Congress. We not only have to deal with the HOPE VI program. we have to deal with the public housing program. the sebtion 8. We have to look at streamlining the system where builders and developers in this country can bring affordable housing on line and make it available for people who are moving out of government assistance into homes of their home. The Moving To Work program. I think. is going to work very well. It allows people to retain some earnings. to build up the savings to be able to afford to move into a home for the first time. We have a lot of nonprofits in this country that provide downpayment assistance. programs who help people that can afford a payment but dont have the cash on hand within which to be able to put down and pay the closing costis to move into a home. We have got to look at the overall industry and say. how can we be innovative? How can we be creative? And how can we help people to help themselves? Now. I am a conservative. I dont believe in government*programs going on forever. But I think people come to a point in their life where they need a helping hand. We need to look at ways to help them go on their open to become selfsufficient. Thats what I hope we do in Congress. not only look at reforming the government programs we have here today to make them more innovative. make them work for people. In L.A. County. there is a 10year wait for people to go on vouchers or public housing. That has to change. People wait for 10 years who are just as needy or more needy sometimes than people who are receiving assistance. But we have no way of moving those people out of government programs into their own homes. Thats what we need to look at. streamlining. removing the red tape. fast tracking. have some nexus between the cost thats assessed against the project and the actual cost of that project. I want to commend BARNEY FRANK. Over the years. he and I have worked on more legislation on housing I think than any two. Members from the Republican and Democrat side together that try to create programs that work for people. Tonights bill might not be everything they want. I know its not H7734 CC everything that MAXINE WATERS and BARNEY. FRANK wants. but it was an agreement between the two of us in a bipartisan fashion. Republicans and Democrats. to come and fashion a bill that would work. I think this bill has some innovation. It makes some changes. and I think it moves us ina better direction. Are we where we should be completely? No. but we are moving in a good direction. I look forward to cooperation from both sides.