To exempt persons with disabilities from the prohibition against providing section 8 rental assistance to college students.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Ohio, Ms. Pryce; the gentlemen from Ohio, Mr. Tiberi and Mr. Hobson; and the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, from Ohio, Mr. Ney; as well as the ranking member, Mr. Barney Frank; and Chairman Oxley for their work on this measure. The full Committee on Financial Services reported it out unanimously by voice vote on May 24 of this year. As indicated by my colleague Ms. Pryce, this bill corrects an unintended consequence of a provision added to the HUD appropriations bill last year that sought to close a loophole in the Section 8 program allowing student athletes and other non-needy students access to subsidized housing.

The fiscal year 2006 Transportation, Treasury, HUD, Judiciary and D.C. Appropriations conference report, codified as Public Law 109-115, included a provision that effectively counted the income of parents when determining whether students under the age of 24 are eligible to receive Section 8 assistance. That provision does not apply to veterans or to students who are married or have children. This bill, H.R. 5117, would additionally exempt students with disabilities from this treatment.

Mr. Speaker, the same appropriations bill included language intended to close the loophole in the Section 8 program which allowed student athletes and other non-needy students access to Section 8 housing intended for low-income persons. While this was not the intention of the appropriators, it created a potential hardship for the disabled community. However, the final rule issued by HUD in response to Public Law 109-115 has the potential to disqualify from Section 8 eligibility those severely disabled individuals under the age of 24 who are enrolled in an institution of higher learning.

H.R. 5117 is prescriptive, Mr. Speaker. It merely adds persons with disabilities to the list of exempt individuals. Of course, the disabled can least afford additional burdens and, therefore, anything that we can do to lessen their burden is well worth it. The final rule issued by HUD included this prohibition, and the sooner it is lifted, we will be able to return a sense of fairness to the Section 8 program, particularly where disabled students are concerned.

So I would urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 5117.

And let me just say that this bill is typical of the kind of work that is getting done on our committee. We have tremendous cooperation from both sides of the aisle to do good work relative to making sure that not only rental opportunities are available to those who need it, but we are doing wonderful work in this committee on home ownership issues. What better month to be able to correct this problem in law than the month of June. This is National home ownership Month, and I think that our committee has certainly recognized this. And while we make this correction, we are working on a lot of other bills.

I am so proud of the work that we are all doing on FHA to bring it up to date and make sure that our opportunities are available for the least of these. I am so proud of the work that we are going to mark up on voucher reform. I am very pleased about the idea that many of us are getting together to try to hold on to HOPE VI.

So in this National home ownership Month, today we stand to send a signal not only to the disabled but to those who somehow get overlooked, forgotten, that we really are on point.

Mr. Speaker, again, let me just thank my colleagues on the committee on both sides of the aisle for the work that we are doing. I thank them today for 5117, for all of the other work that we are doing, and I would say that many others in this House can look at the work that this committee is producing and be proud and perhaps even use it as an example.

And so, Mr. Speaker, I urge passage at this time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill H.R. 5117, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. The story of this bill begins 4 months ago when I first heard that disabled students, many of whom rely on section 8 housing assistance, were at risk of losing support they depend on to go to school in and around Columbus, Ohio.

Marilyn Frank, the executive director of Creative Living, an organization in Columbus that provides a home for the severely disabled, told me that she feared a new law aimed at eliminating abuses in the section 8 program had the potential to hurt some of our most vulnerable citizens. Many of these residents would be unable to pursue their dreams of higher education without the support of Creative Living and the funding of the section 8 program.

H.R. 5117 gives us the opportunity to right a wrong. We can give these students the peace of mind that they can continue their education without fear that they will lose the housing on which they depend.

Now, the story behind the story begins more than a year ago. Media reports in Iowa and elsewhere questioned the integrity of section 8. It became clear that students, some student athletes, many from well-to-do families, were residing in subsidized housing created for low-income Americans. The images from these reports were patently offensive. While some families struggled to make financial ends meet to stay in the section 8 residences, a group of college football players lived in low- income housing, rent free and spent their $500 per week stipend at the mall on video games.

Congress responded quickly to close these loopholes and tightened the eligibility requirements for students who wish to reside in federally subsidized housing.

Unfortunately, that fix overlooked the disabled. This bill simply exempts disabled students who were receiving section 8 from these new requirements, thus grandfathering in disabled students who are currently going to school and receiving this assistance. The list of exempt individuals also currently includes veterans, married individuals, and those with dependent children.

The bill we are considering today ensures that disabled students who desperately are dependent upon section 8 to pursue their education will not be unfairly shut out of the rental assistance program.

I would like to thank my fellow Ohioans, Chairman Oxley and Congressman Ney, Chairman Hobson and Congressman Tiberi, for helping move this bill quickly to the floor. Mr. Leach and Ranking Member Frank from Massachusetts also deserve a great deal of thanks.

But our fight is not done. Unfortunately, because of some CBO scoring issues, the bill before us today is not

the broad fix to the section 8 program I had originally sought. And subsidized housing facilities like Creative Living cannot accept new students under the section 8 program until a more permanent solution is enacted by this body.

To that end I will continue to work to ensure that facilities like this can continue to house students with disabilities in the future and allow them to pursue their dreams.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I just want to say this is a great victory today. We are ensuring that these students do not have to put away their textbooks or even hang up their lab coats because of something that we did when we thought we were correcting a problem. There are enough challenges put in front of individuals with severe disabilities, and worrying about a place to call home while they attend college should not be one of them.

I also appreciate the bipartisan effort on this bill and so many other pieces of legislation that moved through our committee.

And thank you, Ms. Waters, for joining me in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, on behalf of the leader, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5117 which was received from the House.