National Housing Law Project Housing Law Bulletin

Project's Testimony on H.R.2

On March 6, 1997, David Bryson, the Project's Interim Director, testified at a hearing on the Housing Opportunity and Responsibility Act of 1997 (H.R.2) before the House Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.

The statement covers seven general topics: (1) targeting, i.e., who should receive federal housing assistance; (2) tenants' participation in the operation and governance of their housing; (3) rents, i.e., keeping federally assisted housing affordable to poor people; (4) graduation dates or time limits for employed tenants in assisted housing; (5) eviction policies; (5) loss of public housing due to demolitions, sales and conversions to vouchers; and (7) the proposed block grant to local governments as an alternative to both public housing and tenant-based assistance (Title IV of H.R.2).

A complete electronic transcript of his testimony may be found at http://www.house.gov/banking/3697nhlp.htm and on Handsnet (Legal Services/Substantive Law/Housing).