John Joseph Moakley: “Mr. Chairman, I favor very much the amendment of the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan). I hope it passes. But…”

“Mr. Chairman, I favor very much the amendment of the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan). I hope it passes. But, Mr. Chairman, the VA-HUD appropriations bill that we are considering is really seriously underfunded. It is underfunding so many housing programs which is so vital to so many people in our country and many in my own Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In this time of economic prosperity, it is important to remember where many people who are still struggling to get by every day, what is going to happen to those people and those who need the housing programs to put a roof over their heads. Mr. Chairman, not everyone in this Nation is so lucky to own dot-com stocks. Not every family has seen the tremendous financial windfall that the Nation's booming economy has created. This bill severely cuts housing programs by $2.5 billion less than President Clinton's requested amount. Nearly every program in HUD's budget is cut from the President's request. I just cannot figure out why my Republican colleagues would not choose to fully fund affordable housing, which is so crucial to so many people in our country. Contrary to the belief of some of my colleagues, the HUD budget is not increased. In fact, this year's VA-HUD appropriations bill turns its back on the need for affordable housing. While the administration has requested 120,000 new section 8 vouchers, this bill does not include a single new voucher.”