OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006

By: Al Green
By: Al Green
Date: June 29, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Transportation

TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006 -- (House of Representatives - June 29, 2005)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. AL GREEN OF TEXAS

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in the spirit of a great and noble American, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, who reminded us, Mr. Chairman, that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

And I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have fought injustice in housing. I especially thank the gentleman from Michigan (Chairman KNOLLENBERG); the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), ranking member; and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), my ranking member on the Committee on Financial Services. I would also like to thank Democrats and Republicans of goodwill who have been engaged in this fight for housing justice because fighting injustice in housing is neither Democratic nor Republican.

Fighting injustice in housing is an American cause, and all people of goodwill understand that we cannot allow invidious discrimination to steal the great American ideal of having a place to call home. This is why 37 years ago, Mr. Chairman, this august body passed the Federal Fair Housing Act. However, 37 years later we still have more than 3.7 million Fair Housing violations annually.

This is why my colleagues have supported the funding of the Fair Housing Initiatives program and the Fair Housing Assistance program. Mr. Chairman, I thank God for those Democrats and Republicans who have supported the funding of these vital programs that not only educate consumers about housing discrimination but, more importantly, promulgate investigations that produce evidence of discrimination.

So today, Mr. Chairman, I call upon Democrats and Republicans of goodwill to restore these vital programs to the fiscal year 2005 levels. If we are to keep real the American ideal of homeownership for all, we need to restore this funding. If we want the American Dream embodied in the adage "there is no place like home" to thrive and survive not only for those in the suites of life but also for those in the streets of life, we are to restore this funding.

Mr. Chairman, when it comes to housing, we cannot claim justice for all of us as long as there is injustice against any one of us. We ought to restore this funding.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov


Source
arrow_upward