Richard Baker: “I truly do not believe we could have prevented it, but we could have prevented the financial meltdown that we are in…”

It is unfortunate, but all we can conclude when we look at the inventory of housing provided by our Nation today to the working poor of America, you can only reach one conclusion. It is sad, but the U.S. Government is the world's largest…

Does that mean, if the gentleman will continue to yield, that if we keep the current system in place, we discourage people from getting job skills and going to work and maybe one day moving out of public housing? Is that the problem?

I just want to point out, it has again been missed, that housing director after housing director after public housing authority board member has contacted Members of this Congress and said, ``Please, give us some relief from the Brooke…

We are characterizing local public housing authorities across this country as people who do not care about those people. By and large, are not most of these individuals who serve on these authorities either very low paid or volunteers…