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Waters Supports Bipartisan Bill to Increase Housing
Opportunities for Low-Income Families
Special to The Truth
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
(D-CA), chairwoman of the House Financial Services
Committee, gave the following floor statement on H.R. 1122,
the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act,
bipartisan legislation to help improve services and
flexibility for Americans who are receiving housing
assistance.
As Prepared for Delivery
Mr. Speaker, rigorous
studies have demonstrated that giving a low-income family
the opportunity to move to a lower poverty neighborhood can
have a profound impact, particularly for young children.
For example, one study found
that young boys and girls in families that used a voucher to
move to lower poverty neighborhoods were 32 percent more
likely to attend college and earned 31 percent more (or
nearly $3,500 a year) compared to their counterparts in
families that did not receive a voucher.
Unfortunately, families with
Housing Choice Vouchers that want to move to a better
neighborhood can face significant challenges, particularly
if it involves moving from one public housing agency
jurisdiction to another. In fact, data shows that only one
in eight families with children with a Housing Choice
Voucher use their vouchers to live in low-poverty areas.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1122 would
help reduce barriers to mobility by establishing a
demonstration program that would enable and incentivize
public housing agencies to come together to come up with a
regional plan to increase mobility across their
jurisdictions.
This is a bipartisan
proposal that was included in HUD budget requests under the
Obama Administration. Further, $25 million in funding for
this demonstration was included in FY 2019 funding bill for
HUD programs, and a version of this bill passed the House
last Congress 368 to 19. This demonstration will not only
provide thousands of families with opportunities to move to
better neighborhoods, but it will also lay the foundation
for how successful outcomes can be replicated at a larger
scale across the country.
I want to congratulate the
gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Cleaver and the gentleman from
Wisconsin, Mr. Duffy, for introducing this initiative.
I urge all Members to vote
"Yes" on H.R. 1122.
H.R. 1122 was introduced by
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Congressman Sean
Duffy (R-WI), Members of the House Financial Services
Committee. The bill passed by a vote of 387-22.
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