Gwen Moore: “HOPE VI is not just a tremendously successful housing program; it's a program that revitalizes entire communities. When…”

“HOPE VI is not just a tremendously successful housing program; it's a program that revitalizes entire communities. When you have an area with thousands of people in dense public housing communities, it's essential that we disperse poverty and create communities within mixed-income groups. HOPE VI has had enormous success at doing just that. I would like to remind my colleagues that HOPE VI is not some liberal Democrat program; it was created under a Republican administration, the previous President Bush. However, for the past 5 years, this President Bush has proposed ending this vital program, claiming that it has already accomplished its goal. Clearly, he's mistaken. Secondly, I just want to remind the body that we're experiencing a mortgage crisis of gargantuan, indeed, global proportions. The bad actors in the mortgage market have found fertile ground among families who have yearned for decent housing. They have preyed upon these families with these awful mortgage products because of the dearth of affordable rental units. HOPE VI is an answer to prayer for these families who may not be able to achieve homeownership, but deserve decent and affordable housing.”