Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 561) recognizing the 20th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the impact it has made on…
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 561) recognizing the 20th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the impact it has made on homelessness and endeavoring to continue working to eliminate homelessness in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very important resolution. It is an appropriate noting of the anniversary, 20-year anniversary, of the passage of the Homeless Assistance Act. It marked the beginning of a formal Federal recognition of the problem of homelessness; it's a great paradox, and one of which we should be embarrassed in this country.
It may not seem obvious to people, but before this, certainly 25 years ago and beyond, the homeless population was an invisible one. And it was in the 1980s that people began to focus on it.
Two former Members of this body, both of whom sadly died younger than should have been the case, while still in their fullness of powers as Members of this body were among the first to recognize it, and it was bipartisan. The former Member from Connecticut, Stewart McKinney, whose successor will be speaking on behalf of this very shortly, was one of those who began it. And he was joined in his advocacy by the late Bruce Vento from St. Paul. And they were two men of great compassion and vision. They were skilled legislators who served on the committee as it was then called on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, and they insisted that we, as a body, in this very wealthy Nation, address the terrible tragedy of people who were homeless, including children and war veterans.
A number of things contributed to the homelessness issue. There were some trends in this society, and often we hear about unintended consequences. There were some trends that in themselves were welcomed that had these negative consequences. One was the improvement in urban areas, the transformation of many downtowns in our big cities from places that were considered not very attractive places in which to live to places that people wanted to live in, the phenomenon known as gentrification.
The area that I represented when I was in the State legislature in the 1970s in Boston, in downtown Boston there were boarding houses, rooming houses in many of the downtown parts of Boston. Most of those are now much more expensive housing. They are single-family homes or condominiums. That, from the standpoint of the city, I suppose, is an improvement. But many of those who lived there were priced out of the market and, in many cases, found no alternative housing.
We also had the movement of deinstitutionalization, of deciding that people with various problems, emotional and mental problems, that it was better to try to get them integrated into communities than to have them living forever apart in institutions, and on the whole that was a very positive step. But no major social policy happens perfectly. The combination of the upgrading economically of these downtowns, of the release of people from institutions, these contributed to the homeless problem.
There are, of course, other problems. Vietnam veterans who came back from a war that they didn't ask to start, who were sent by this country to this difficult country and came back to a country that treated them poorly, that did not honor their commitment and the sacrifice of their time and of their health. And in combination with substance abuse, all of these came together.
At any rate, 20 years ago we recognized that we had this problem, and we have begun to deal with it. And this resolution is a tribute to the two far-sighted men who led this fight; to the many, many people who have worked to try to provide a solution to homelessness; to the homeless themselves, fellow citizens of all ages and races and backgrounds who have had to cope with these difficulties, some because of their own failings, often because of no thing that they did wrong but because of circumstances in which they found themselves. In any case, we ought to deal with it.
And this resolution is also very thoughtful, and I call attention to the ``whereases.'' Whereases, to be candid, Mr. Speaker, are often unemployment. They are filler. But in this case the whereases make some very important points, and one in particular I want to address. It talks about the vulnerable groups that are included. Another one talks about the veterans who are involved. That is, this makes clear that we are dealing with people who have a very legitimate claim on our response. In addition, the resolution itself goes beyond really congratulating people for the work they did and deploring the continued existence of homelessness, but it makes some very specific policy recommendations, which, Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Financial Services will be responding to and has already begun to respond to.
For example, in the resolution, clause 6 says that we recognize ``that the lack of affordable housing exacerbates homelessness in the United States.'' That may seem to state the obvious, but the obvious may have been stated but hasn't been acted on. We have not done nearly enough to produce affordable housing. Homelessness requires shelter; it requires services. But it requires, more than anything else, homes for people. Affordable housing, also rental housing, but it requires housing.
The resolution supports the continued efforts of Federal, State, and local governments in their efforts to prevent and end homelessness through the development of affordable housing. It was not an accident that the gentleman from Connecticut who succeeded Mr. McKinney will be soon speaking on this, is a member of our committee, and is a cosponsor with many of us on legislation that will actually return the Federal Government to the job of producing affordable housing.
So I welcome this resolution for what it commemorates but also for what it commits this Congress to do.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I again note that this is not simply words. Words are important and the work of Bruce Vento and Stewart McKinney, two outstanding Members of Congress, ought to be recognized. The fact that we are talking here about veterans, about children, about other populations that we all want very much to help, they are important. But I want to stress again this is also a commitment for the Committee on Financial Services. I know I speak for the chairwoman of the Housing Subcommittee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), and my colleague here.
And I want to again point to clauses 6 and 7 of the resolution. The resolution ``recognizes that the lack of affordable housing exacerbates homelessness in the United States,'' and No. 7, ``supports the continued efforts of Federal, State, and local governments and private nonprofit organizations in their efforts to prevent and end homelessness through the development of affordable housing.''
The services that are provided, the shelter, the counseling, they are all absolutely essential. But so is a commitment by this very wealthy Nation to help build affordable housing. And if we were not to make that commitment, then the resolution would, I think, be an empty one.
So I look forward to the Committee on Financial Services working together in a bipartisan way to continue to bring to this floor, and I hope ultimately to the desk of the President, and, more important, ultimately to the streets of our cities and rural areas in this country the housing that is needed. This is a promise that we are going to go forward with building affordable housing, and it is a promise that we fully intend to keep.
General Leave
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
