Political Quotes

“I am entirely familiar with the long-standing practice of Congress to fully fund the section 8 voucher program to be sure all vouchers could be used but recognizing that this rarely happened and that excess funds would be recaptured and rescinded in the next fiscal year. I am also very familiar with the fact that HUD programs serve the most vulnerable of our populations, and that veterans are one of the most impacted by the HUD programs in general, and especially the homeless program. I was disappointed to hear that this cycle has been broken, that this Congress has decided that keeping the funds at the public housing authorities is more important than funding facilities for low-income elderly and disabled. But that is exactly what this bill does. It imposes a rescission of a magnitude that would be in excess of the section 8 program need each year, and then precludes the recapture of those funds. The report specifically tells HUD that section 8 funds are off limits for rescission or recapture. To put this in perspective, section 8 voucher funding is 40 percent of HUD's entire project. So HUD is now forced to take the entire amount of the $1.3 billion from a small universe of programs. I urge all of my colleagues to support the motion to recommit and protect the poorest in our communities.”