Blaine Luetkemeyer: “I thank the gentleman from Arkansas. We certainly are appreciative of all the remarks of my colleagues who are here this…”

“I thank the gentleman from Arkansas. We certainly are appreciative of all the remarks of my colleagues who are here this evening--and Mr. Hardy, who is following--with regard to this important issue and something that the Speaker is focusing on, which is poverty and upward mobility. Mr. Hill took time out of his schedule last year to invite me to his district. We were able to go down and visit with some of the residents in public housing units, and we had some great conversations with them. {time} 1700 We also met with some community leaders there in Little Rock and discussed the underlying causes of poverty and those charged with identifying opportunities for people in their communities. I certainly appreciate the gentleman's commitment to this conversation. I know that he is patient about it. He has spent lots of time with it and is again, this evening, spending more time, so I congratulate him on that. This past fall, I had the honor of joining several of my colleagues in New Orleans, and we were examining the state of housing in New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina. We wanted to find out what the local housing authority had done right, what they had done wrong, what their problems, what their pitfalls, and what their barriers have been in trying to get things done because, basically, they had to start from scratch.…”