Today the Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation holds an important hearing on the Section 8 "opt-out" crisis.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) faces the potential loss of a significant portion of the Section 8 project-based housing stock unless swift action is taken.
As the chart shows, over 500,000 units nationwide may be at risk of opting out by 2004.
Today's hearing will help determine how HUD is responding to the Section 8 "opt-out" problem and whether additional Congressional action is needed.
Every state is impacted by this issue. In Colorado, there are over 18,000 tenants in project based section 8 units. Seventy-five percent of these projects will have contracts that expire and must be renegotiated by 2004.
This is a bipartisan issue. Senators Bond and Mikulski, the Chairman and ranking Democrat on the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, recently wrote to Secretary Cuomo on this important issue.
They pointed out that legislation was included as part of the FY 1998 VA-HUD Appropriations bill that granted HUD the authority to adjust section 8 rents to market levels. HUD is further authorized to use funds made available for the renewal of section 8 for this purpose.
I join with my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee in expressing disappointment that HUD has responded slowly to this crisis. The time-line chart shows that twenty months have passed since that legislation.
I am pleased that HUD released a Notice on this issue to its field staff on June 16, we can only hope that this is not too little, too late.
In due course we will hear from Bill Apgar, Assistant HUD Secretary and FHA Commissioner on how I-IUD is responding to this crisis.
First, however, we will hear from six members of Congress who have various proposals that may help us to more effectively deal with this issue.
We are joined by the ranking member on this Subcommittee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, a strong advocate for housing, he is joining with Senator Jeffords in important legislation.
We are joined by Senator Rod Grams, who is working hard to find solutions to the section 8 crisis for his constituents in Minnesota.
We are joined by Senator Kit Bond of Missouri, Chairman of the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, a leading expert on housing issues.
We are also joined by Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont who is introducing major legislation on this issue to address the needs of low income tenants in his state.
In addition, we have two of our distinguished House colleagues, Representative Rick Lazio of New York, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, who has introduced H.R. 1336, a proposal to enhance vouchers in response to the Section 8 opt-out problem.
And Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, who has some important recommendations in this area.
I welcome each of the members.
I have been informed that Senator Jeffords has a 10 am hearing to chair and that Senator Grams has a commitment at 10 would therefore ask that we start with them and let them follow the ranking member's opening statement and then we will turn to Senators Bond, and Representatives Lazio and Frank.
At this time I would like to recognize Senator Kerry.