Peter Torkildsen: “housing is a key part of the American dream. For some this means owning their own home, and that's why we must keep the…”

“housing is a key part of the American dream. For some this means owning their own home, and that's why we must keep the tax deduction for mortgage-interest. For others it means renting an apartment at market rates. And for others it means living in subsidized housing. For those people the Brooke amendment is essential. As a Republican from Massachusetts, I am proud to support this amendment, which upholds the strong tradition of housing fairness established by a great Massachusetts Republican, Senator Ed Brooke. I applaud the chairman of the Housing Subcommittee for crafting a bill that skillfully reinvents the Federal Government's approach to housing policy. But I find no reason to alter the Brooke amendment as part of this reinvention. In 1969, Ed Brooke proposed his amendment in response to increasingly unaffordable rents charged by public housing authorities struggling to meet expenses. Unfortunately, not much has changed since then. We still need this valuable safety net for families living in public housing. The Brooke amendment is plain and simple. It says that families in public housing will not pay more than 30 percent of their income in rent.”