Section 8 Voucher Reform Act Of 2007

Floor Speech

SECTION 8 VOUCHER REFORM ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 12, 2007)

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Madam Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Chairman, let me first commend Chairman Frank and Chairwoman Waters for their leadership in moving this necessary reform forward. They led the Financial Services Committee through a healthy but complicated series of issues and produced a bill that truly improves the section 8 program.

Section 8 is the Nation's largest low-income housing program. It currently enables more than 2 million low-income families to fulfill the basic needs of shelter. We should strive to help more people find safe and decent housing. That is why this bill includes 100,000 new vouchers over the next 5 years. It is critical that we support this bipartisan work that transitions people out of poverty.

Keeping people safe is at the heart of my amendment, which may seem minor, but provides important eviction and privacy protection for victims of domestic violence who live in section 8 housing. Let us not allow domestic violence victims to fall through the cracks.

It does this by ensuring that residents are not evicted simply because they are victims of domestic violence. While it is hard to believe, under current law, if a resident is visited by a former spouse, a stalker or domestic abuser, and he breaks down the door, the very noise and property damage caused by the dispute could be grounds for her to be evicted. Being abused should not be cause for terminating a lease. My amendment changes that by protecting section 8 tenants from wrongful eviction.

It is fundamentally wrong to evict a resident because they have been victimized. The individuals and their families deserve our respect and understanding. This provision ensures that domestic violence victims have a safe home for them and their families.

Second, my amendment protects the record of domestic violence victims. If certain identifying characteristics are made public, even to a prospective landlord, abusers could use the information to locate their victims. This goes beyond just name and Social Security number. The key is making sure that their information is protected so that victims move forward without the fear of being found. Their safety must be first and foremost. Let's give section 8 tenants basic protections to ensure they can find and keep a safe home away from violence.

Madam Chairwoman, I support the improvements to the section 8 program that H.R. 1851 makes and want to thank Chairman Frank and Chairwoman Waters again for their diligence on this bill. I think it is important that we remember that finding a home entails feeling safe, not just securing shelter.

In 2005, we fought in unison to protect domestic violence victims through VAWA; 415 Members of the 109th Congress supported these provisions back then. Today I am asking you to close a potential loophole for section 8 housing residents who are victims of domestic violence. I urge a ``yes'' vote on my amendment and the underlying bill.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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