Maxwell Frost: “Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely no way I can support this rule. Last night, the Republican leadership of…”

“Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely no way I can support this rule. Last night, the Republican leadership of this House once again turned its back on military families trying to find a decent place to live. On bill after bill after bill, this Republican majority has chosen to waive all points of order, but on this bill, the Speaker and the majority leader refused to protect the Military Housing Privatization Initiative provision in the Military Construction bill from a point of order, despite the support of the President of the United States and the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services. The leadership's decision dooms the important military housing provision, and it is wrong; and it is wrong particularly in a time of war. The housing initiative is a public-private partnership that allows developers and property managers to build or renovate homes for use by military personnel. It is extremely successful. In fact, it has already provided decent housing to more than 60,000 military families, exceeding all expectations. If adequately funded, this initiative will enable the military to eliminate nearly all inadequate units within the U.S. by 2008.”