Paul Cook: “I am especially supportive of the work requirement for public housing residents. Few can disagree that current Federal…”

“I am especially supportive of the work requirement for public housing residents. Few can disagree that current Federal housing policy creates disincentives to work, encourages the breakup of families, and has resulted in an undue concentration of poverty in certain neighborhoods. The Housing Opportunity and Responsibility Act addresses the problems with our Nation's public housing projects with common-sense solutions. One key component of this approach is the work requirement for the public housing residents. The work requirement is not unreasonable. It applies only to able-bodied public housing residents without dependent children. It demands that a resident of public housing, as a condition of receiving Federal assistance, display a commitment to putting themselves on a path to self-sufficiency and economic independence. I see that kind of logic as totally flawed, as evidenced by our decaying public housing projects across America.”