[StBernard] [LANDRIEU] Times-Picayune Op-Ed Backs Dodd-Landrieu Housing Bill

[Westley Annis]

Times-Picayune Op-Ed Backs Dodd-Landrieu Housing Bill Sets record straight
as opponents distort content of bill.

 

WASHINGTON - This weekend, the New Orleans Times-Picayune published an op-ed
by James Perry, director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action
Center, citing the critical need for the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act
cosponsored by Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Senator Mary
L. Landrieu, D-La. The article clarifies common misconceptions of the bill
and appears in its entirety below.

Opinion: Housing recovery needs senator's help Times-Picayune, September 29,
2007, by James Perry

Recovering from Hurricane Katrina has been difficult for us all. Regardless
of race, sex, religion or political affiliation, the greatest obstacle has
been the lack of housing. There are three main problems: not enough relief
for homeowners, not enough relief for renters and the lack of any serious
plan for fixing either problem. It has been incredibly frustrating for me, a
native New Orleanian, homeowner and full-time housing advocate.

So, you can imagine my relief when Congress got around to taking charge.
Through the Gulf Coast Recovery Act of 2007 (House Bill 1227 and Senate Bill
1668), U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, Sen. Mary Landrieu and Sen. Chris Dodd have
attempted to create plans and provide funding that would mend many of the
Gulf Coast's housing woes.

The Senate version of the bill would, among other things, cover most of the
Road Home funding gap to save homeowners, provide enough affordable and
low-income housing units to meet the needs of New Orleans' poor, fix federal
housing rules to help deal with blighted properties and fix federal
insurance guidelines to free up local mortgage lenders' capital, allowing
lenders to make more housing loans to Gulf Coast citizens.

While the legislation isn't perfect, those who understand the housing
challenges in the Gulf Coast area agree that it moves us in the right
direction. The House version of the bill passed 302-125 with strong
bipartisan support. The entire Louisiana House of Representatives
delegation, including Republicans Bobby Jindal and Richard Baker, voted for
the Democrat-sponsored bill. In addition, more than 100 Gulf Coast
organizations signed letters supporting the legislation.

Tuesday, I testified in support of the bill with representatives from the
Brookings Institution, representatives of Catholic housing groups, the
Louisiana Mortgage Bankers' Association and two non-profit developers. You
could feel the energy in the room. We all sensed progress at long last.

But not so fast. What we noticed was that one important person was absent
from the hearing: Sen. David Vitter. We had worked with Vitter and his staff
for months negotiating the bill to assuage his concerns. It was our
understanding that he supported the legislation. Sadly, Vitter abruptly sent
out a press release following the hearing, condemning the Gulf Coast
Recovery Act and offering no alternative. We sat frustrated in the Senate
chambers, hearing that the first solid progress on the housing front could
die at Vitter's hands.

Press reports indicate that Vitter is in opposition because he believes the
act would reopen existing public housing and concentrate poverty, and that
the housing need described in the act isn't real. He is wrong on all counts.

I met with Vitter Wednesday morning and I explained the following. The Gulf
Coast Recovery Act does not require that public housing be reopened as it
was pre-Katrina, nor does it encourage the concentration of poverty. As a
matter of fact, it allows the Housing Authority to place housing wherever it
chooses using vouchers and subsidized physical units.

Further, in most cases, it requires that no more than 50 percent of units in
the new buildings can be low-income units. It will result in commonly
praised mixed-income housing and the improvement of New Orleans' decades-old
and long-criticized public housing projects. Vitter would know this if he
had attended Tuesday's hearing.

Affordable housing advocates support the Gulf Coast Recovery Act because it
requires that enough affordable housing be built to meet the needs of the
working poor, the elderly poor, people with disabilities and people with
very low incomes. This is extremely helpful, since HANO consistently has
failed to replace enough of the low-income units it has demolished.

Business people support the Gulf Coast Recovery Act because it will ensure
that housing is built for low-wage workers, who are needed to make the New
Orleans' tourism industry profitable.

Homeowners support the Gulf Coast Recovery Act because it will fix the gap
in the Road Home program necessary to make them whole.

The Gulf Coast Recovery Act has wide business, advocate, bi-partisan, state
and local support. Sen. Vitter stands as the main roadblock, voicing
concerns that don't jibe with the actual bill, all while offering no plan of
his own.

He does so in spite of the fact that he skipped out on a hearing to discuss
what may be our most important step towards real housing progress on the
Gulf Coast.

I urge Vitter to move forward on the Gulf Coast Recovery Act or give us
something better so we can move our recovery forward in a way that provides
housing opportunities for everyone.

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