Rick Lazio: “Mr. Chairman, what the gentleman from Massachusetts calls wealthy are people that are making minimum wage or 50 cents or…”

“Mr. Chairman, what the gentleman from Massachusetts calls wealthy are people that are making minimum wage or 50 cents or a dollar more than minimum wage. That is where we have broad disagreement, where the gentleman looks at people who are working for minimum wage in entry-level jobs and sees them as wealthy and able to support rent at a market rate. In fact I look at it and many Members who support these efforts look at this and say that people who are struggling to work, who accept the challenge of a minimum wage job, should not be shut out. They should be helped. This is one of the dividing lines between, I think, our two different perspectives. In fact, under the requirements of this bill, the public housing authority must set aside at least 40 percent of its units for vouchers for the poorest of the poor, at least 35 percent of its units, and yes, it can mix and match between those two, but in either case it must meet the minimum standards of meeting the demands of the poorest of the poor, people making below 30 percent of median income.”