Congressman Al Green Supports Revitalization Of Public Housing

(Washington, DC)--Today, the United States House of Representatives voted 271 - 130 to pass H.R. 3524, the HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act.  Congressman Al Green (TX-09), a Member of the House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, spoke on the floor of the House this morning in support of the reauthorization of a vital program that revitalizes severely distressed public housing projects, improves economic conditions in the surrounding neighborhood, and helps very poor families progress toward self-sufficiency.

“The reauthorization and enhancement of the HOPE VI Program will strengthen a crucial tool for revitalizing our nation’s most distressed public housing. While this program has been in need of reform, which this bill addresses, we cannot question the importance of the program or the need for the program to continue to revitalize our communities,” Congressman Al Green said.

The HOPE VI program was created through bipartisan efforts in 1992. The legislation passed today would reauthorize the successful HOPE VI program for eight years, through FY 2015 – authorizing up to $800 million a year.  In HOPE VI projects, every government dollar has leveraged at least two private sector dollars and these projects have been credited with helping to revitalize communities across the country.  Since the establishment of the program over 15 years ago, the HOPE VI Revitalization Grant program has awarded 237 grants to 127 cities across our nation.

In addition to reauthorizing the program, H.R. 3524 also contains numerous improvements to the HOPE VI program.  For example,  this bill provides residents displaced by a HOPE VI project with three housing choice: a revitalized unit on the site of the original public housing locations, a revitalized unit in the jurisdiction of the public housing agency, or a housing choice voucher, which can be used in areas with lower concentrations of poverty. It also provides expanded housing opportunities for residents displaced by HOPE VI projects and provides enhanced tenant protections and resident involvement.

“There is a misconception held by some that there is a surplus of available and affordable housing units in the United States.  In fact, there is a deficit of over 5.6 million affordable and available housing units across this country," Congressman Al Green said. "In Texas alone, we face the third largest deficit in the nation with a shortage of over 437,000 affordable and available housing units.  This bill stems the loss of affordable housing by requiring that all units demolished under future HOPE VI awards be replaced on a one-to-one basis.  Without this provision, 100,000 of the public housing units slated to be demolished under the first 15 years of HOPE VI awards will not be replaced by other units affordable to poor families.  The availability of affordable housing is vital to the health and well-being of our families, our communities, and our nation.”