Melvin Watt: “We are supportive of anything that does decent and affordable housing for people in this country. Mr. Speaker, it is for…”

“We are supportive of anything that does decent and affordable housing for people in this country. Mr. Speaker, it is for that reason that we are so perplexed by the President's decision not to go forward with the Hope VI project by zeroing out Hope VI and saying that Hope VI has apparently served its purpose in this country. I just came from a meeting with a group of students, one of whom was Ms. Audrey Evans who is a student at North Carolina A&T State University, and without knowing I was coming here, she said I want to commend you on the Hope VI program. She said she was raised in public housing, and our commitment to Hope VI helped to change her life because putting public housing in communities and allowing her to be exposed to people around her who are interested in succeeding educationally and economically and personally is something that has meant so much to her. Throughout America, we have heard these stories about how successful Hope VI has been.”