Alcee Hastings: “Mr. Speaker, I am especially pleased that the rule makes in order an amendment offered by my colleague from Florida…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am especially pleased that the rule makes in order an amendment offered by my colleague from Florida, Representative Kendrick Meek. His amendment ensures that in extreme cases where HUD is forced to take over control of a housing authority, it must honor any and all existing agreements between the local housing authority and tenant associations. This amendment is needed in south Florida and throughout the country, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, the skyrocketing number of foreclosures and the lack of affordable housing are some of the greatest financial problems our Nation faces today. In Broward County, the county in which I live in Florida, foreclosure rates tripled in 2007 alone. It is obvious this situation has grown beyond a crisis and extends into our entire economy.”