Barbara Mikulski: “I wish to comment on the amendment that has been offered by the senior Senator from Maryland, the ranking member on…”

“I wish to comment on the amendment that has been offered by the senior Senator from Maryland, the ranking member on Housing on the housing voucher program. I want very much to support his amendment because I think it is absolutely crucial that we do this. There are people who are living under three basic circumstances. No. 1, some are shelters, which is emergency housing. God bless all of the communities, the Red Cross, the people of Texas, and everywhere that have provided shelter housing. But shelter housing is for an emergency situation, and people do need to move to stable housing. Then there are those people who did evacuate. They might be of modest means, they might be of middle-class means, but they have been living in hotels and motels along the way. They have been living off of their credit cards. They are now out of money, they are out of gas, and they wonder what to do next. They need to be able to move into housing. Also, in order to be able to get a job, you need an address. In order to get a benefit, you need an address. Then there is the third group of people who have been embraced by churches, who are living maybe with strangers or even living with relatives. But for many people, their relatives are also on a tight budget, living on a shoestring or a small pocketbook. We have had generosity of spirit, generosity of heart, and even generosity of wallet. But that is limited until people can move into other types of housing.…”