It Can Be Done

If you truly want to see how Congress was designed to work, this past Tuesday’s vote on H.R. 3700, “The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2015” was the vote to watch. It was a true example of what I have written about on several occasions, civility and compromise. This bill is one of the largest sweeping reforms of our nation’s housing program in twenty years and Republicans and Democrats worked together to get it done.

H.R. 3700 passed the House with a unanimous 427 votes to 0. Republicans and Democrats working together: it can be done.

With this bill, the housing needs for Americans will significantly improve. The hope and expectations of this bill are more efficiency for low income families, increased access to home ownership, and a reduction in homelessness.

Some of you reading this newsletter may never know what it’s like for some of our citizens who lack proper housing…those who are living in a home without heat or food, or those foster children who have been tossed out of their homes because they have reached a certain age...or those who have served our country but cannot afford to live in a home of their own. Public housing assistance was meant to help families in need. It helped me and my family when we lived in public housing in Wichita Falls, Texas. My father worked three jobs to get his family out of public housing. But when we needed it, it was there for us.

I was pleased to co-author this legislation with my friend, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO). We worked together to draft a bill that will make access to housing assistance easier.

This bill would:

• Streamline the inspection and income review process for families in assisted housing to increase efficiency, to get families into homes faster, and to better target funding.
• Provide additional flexibility to public housing agency funds to better make repairs and renovations to public housing, giving people better and safer places to live.
• Increase access to rural housing loans for low and moderate income households to purchase, rehab or build homes.
• Increase aid to former foster care children receiving housing assistance through the Family Unification Program by extending the age of eligibility from 21 years to 24…helping them get on their feet.
• Support our veterans through the appointment of a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to better assist veterans who rely on housing assistance and homelessness services.

Not everything in this bill was pleasing to me, in fact there were sections I would have liked to see changed but this bill is a step in the right direction to improving housing for all Americans. It’s an example of what we can achieve when we work together.

It can be done!

Warmly,