Political Quotes

“I rise today to speak in opposition to the Lee amendment No. 3897. I wish to take a moment to thank Senator Collins and Senator Jack Reed for their terrific work on this bill and for how they teamed up to manage this bill in pretty much the right way. With this legislation, we are making critical investments in our transportation, housing, and community development programs. In this country today, one in four families who rent spend more than half of their income on housing. We have been taught from young adulthood on that you shouldn't spend more than 25, 30, or 35 percent at the most on house payments or rent, yet one-fourth of Americans are spending more than half of their income on housing. I recently read the book ``Evicted'' by Matthew Desmond. In that book, one renter was quoted as saying that when her paycheck came in, her rent eats first. She had kids who were hungry. She had bus tokens to buy so she could get to work. With all of the challenges she had, she said: My rent eats first. We know what that means. In housing, whether it is in rural Maine or whether it is in urban or rural Ohio, we know that rental prices have continued to go up and up. Evictions are so much more common than they were a decade or, especially, two decades ago. That has to change, and it makes clear why we need to maintain our existing affordable housing resources.…”