Rick Lazio

Let me note as well that we are confident and the Speaker is confident that we will have several appropriations bills available to the House for a vote before Memorial Day break. That is well in front of schedule, and it is something I…

This is a message of empowerment. This is a message of accountability. What we are saying with public housing reform is that it is time to stop wasting money, throwing money at the public housing authorities that have failed year after…

I would just once again urge all Members to support these important extensions, protection for senior citizens from being ripped off, antifraud provisions, protections for public housing in general. This is an important vote for rural…

I would just note that we are in the process of trying to overhaul public housing for the first time, at least in any significant sense, in over 60 years; and if we prove in this House that we cannot correct this problem, if we establish…

I just wanted to mention obviously this particular issue was debated thoroughly last year, and I know the gentleman from Massachusetts recalls my position on this, but the House has worked its will, and I respect that and have reflected…

We want to make a statement here that we are going to hit the ground running. We are not going to wait for further activity; we are not going to condemn another generation to live in substandard conditions. We are going to acknowledge the…

I would say that the very essence of H.R. 2 is local flexibility. That is not in current law. Current law suggests, again, go back to the same old Washington prescription. This is why we want to have this kind of flexibility so that…

I would just say in the gentleman from Massachusetts' amendment, the eligibility for choice-based assistance is restricted to families with incomes of 50 percent or below of median income.

The language of the gentleman's amendment is that anybody above 50 percent is excluded, and that is what the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. Leach] is taking.

I think that the gentleman's idea and obviously his passion are right on the mark, and I will do whatever I can to work in conference, if this bill is adopted, and I am hopeful it will, with the VA's strong support, that we will be able to…

Let me just comment that in fact there is no doubt that we need to look to new tools to develop additional units of housing, affordable housing, wherever we can. That is really the intent of H.R. 2. Within H.R. 2 we are allowing for those…

The idea that money alone will fix the problem is wrong, it is not factual, and the fact that we need to create environments where competitive forces reign, where we demand levels of excellence in terms of management and we begin to change…

I would say firstly that the object of H.R. 2 is to make sure there are no bad housing complexes.

I think what distinguishes us is the fact that, under our program, under this bill, we are hopeful of creating environments where poor people can actually transition out, where we can actually make more availability. We are going to spend…

I want to establish that the idea that more money and more money and more money is the answer to poverty is contradicted by the chart right behind the gentleman, which shows that since 1982, as median income has been going down, operating…

Let me say, when we spend $37 billion additional dollars, which is over half of the increase in discretionary spending, to meet the needs for affordable housing where we subsidize units that does not run with the people, that means every…

We are going to spend over half of the additional spending in this budget deal on low-income housing. In addition, we spent over $1 billion on the homeless, which we will again.

In fact, Mr. Chairman, this is about building that type of synergy. This is about ensuring that we reconnect, reconnect people with their civic duty, reconnect the working class with the people that are unemployed. We are not saying that…

It is the intent and the desire of myself and, I think, other Members in support of the bill that residents who are working and who are earning more are not forced to leave Cabrini Green but can stay there and continue to be role models in…

That is true. I would also add that this bill saves money. It saves in administrative expenses. And, yes, in this one area there are some additional requests in terms of expanding the mission, but overall this bill is a saver both for…

The most cost effective thing that we can do is to move people to self-sufficiency. The goal here is to do just that, to improve neighborhoods, especially low-income neighborhoods and public housing areas and to get people, if we can, to…

Some of the most important work that is being done with the homeless right now involves supportive services and the type of counseling.

This Member, and I believe this side of the aisle, strongly supports child care, additional funding for child care, and believes it was inherent in the provisions of the bill as to qualified activities. But I am happy to clarify this…

I just wanted to note, because I think there was some confusion in the presentation that we accepted the gentlewoman's amendment in the bill. It was completely the intent of the committee, it is the understanding of the committee that it…

Will be required to volunteer at least 10 hours per month to assistant programs ranging from early childhood education, parenting, and the various programs that we have.