Sean Patrick Maloney: “the purpose of my comments is to clarify the purpose of section 622 of H.R. 2, the Housing Opportunity and…”

“the purpose of my comments is to clarify the purpose of section 622 of H.R. 2, the Housing Opportunity and Responsibility Act of 1997. I think it is important that the record on this legislation reflect the considerable thought and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of residents, owners, and managers alike that accompanied the decision to include this provision in the bill. This is the third Congress in which I have worked to secure for residents of public housing the opportunity to own pets; last year, by a vote of almost 8 to 1, the House adopted an amendment based on a bill that my colleague from New York, Ms. Molinari, and I had introduced. I wish to thank Mr. Lazio, my colleague from New York and the chairman of the Housing Subcommittee, for his efforts to include an expanded version of that amendment in the housing reform legislation. For many years, residents of federally assisted housing designated for senior citizens and disabled persons have been allowed to own common household pets, such as dogs, cats, and birds. This has worked extremely well; even the Department of Housing and Urban Development has had to admit that the problems it forecast have never come to pass. Building on that success, section 622 will extend that privilege to residents of most other forms of federally assisted rental housing.”