On the recordJune 9, 2014
I must oppose the gentleman's amendment. The bill funds rental housing assistance at $28 million. This is the amount necessary to fund the 18,000 existing long-term project-based rental assistance contracts. This will ensure that these units remain available to low-income families. In fact, if the gentleman's amendment were adopted we would actually break contracts. We would not be able to fund contracts that we are legally obligated to do. The bill's funding levels are not arbitrary. We have scrubbed these accounts. We have held hearings and made recommendations on what must be funded. Again, I must oppose it. There are no new contracts. We are not expanding the program; we are basically paying for what we already have in this account. Again, to have this reduction, we would, in fact, break our contract. With that, I oppose the amendment and urge a ``no'' vote. I yield back the balance of my time.
