Vicente Gonzalez: “historically, public and assisted housing units were available to every applicant whose income was up to 80 percent of…”

“historically, public and assisted housing units were available to every applicant whose income was up to 80 percent of median income. This policy was changed by the Gramm-Latta Act of 1981, which restricted eligibility almost entirely to those earning less than 50 percent of median income. In this amendment we are addressing a separate issue. We are talking about trying to achieve more economic mix in our privately owned affordable housing, a house here and a house there. And we are talking about providing sufficient resources to move people who have little housing choice in decent and affordable housing. Most of the families below 30 percent of medium income, the poorest of the poor, cannot find affordable housing. They have worst case housing needs. It is only reasonable that most of the choice-based housing assistance should be available to those who most need it. The bill as it now stands would simply discourage the working poor from seeking self-sufficiency, and it would also bar the doors to those who are in the greatest need. That kind of approach is completely contradictory and cannot work. I urge adoption of the Kennedy amendment.”