On Tuesday, the U.S. House passed a public housing reform bill which contained an amendment from a Florida congressman to ensure more screening is done for public housing applicants.
As part of U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer’s, R-Mo.,“Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act,” which moved through the House on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., added an amendment to ensure public housing applicants face more income verification measures. The amendment was added to Luetkemeyer’s bill by voice vote.
On Tuesday, Buchanan noted that around 25,000 Americans were scamming public housing by making far more than the set income limits. Citing a report from the inspector general from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Buchanan pointed to a Nebraska resident making more than $65,000 with $1.6 million in assets and savings in the six figures lived in public housing for a decade paying $300 a month.
“It is outrageous that taxpayers are footing the bill for millionaires’ housing,” said Buchanan. “This type of abuse hurts truly needy families and erodes faith in government. Holding HUD to the same standards used for other federal benefits will provide much-needed oversight on taxpayer funds and help create consistency across the vast array of assistance programs.”
Buchanan’s amendment ensures HUD and public housing agencies (PHAs) and uses means testing for applicants. Currently PHAs often rely on applicants self-reporting their income.
Luetkemeyer’s bill passed the House, which was co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., without opposition on Tuesday. The bill ensures the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service (RHS) will send more approval authority to lenders for its single housing loan programs and gives veterans more access to public housing.
“Members of Congress joined together to break the trend of failed federal housing policies, Luetkemeyer said after the vote. “This comprehensive, bipartisan legislation represents the first real reforms to the programs and processes at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service in decades. The success of housing programs should not be judged by the number of federal dollars spent. Instead, we are looking outside the box to streamline HUD and RHS policies and eliminate duplicative programs and waste. The future of housing can and should look different and today, my colleagues and I stood together and passed what is the first step to changing our nation’s housing policies.”
First elected to Congress in 2006, Buchanan serves on both the Ways and Means and the Budget Committees. Before his time in politics, Buchanan was in the private sector and led the business community, including chairing the Florida Chamber of Commerce and sitting on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Buchanan had garnered some buzz as a possible U.S. Senate candidate in 2016 but he closed the door on entering the race.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
