TO ASSIST STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO IMPROVE S. 2507 TO IMPROVE AND SIMPLIFY LAWS RELATING TO COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS JOHN SPARKMAN, Alabama, Chairman WILLIAM PROXMIRE, Wisconsin HARRISON A. WILLIAMS, JR., New Jersey J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, JR., Louisiana JOHN TOWER, Texas WALLACE F. BENNETT, Utah EDWARD W. BROOKE, Massachusetts BILL BROCK, Tennessee ROBERT TAFT, JR., Ohio LOWELL P. WEICKER, JR., Connecticut DUDLEY L. O'NEAL, Jr., Staff Director and General Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS WILLIAM PROXMIRE, Wisconsin JOHN TOWER, Texas EDWARD W. BROOKE, Massachusetts CARL A. S. COAN, Staff Director THOMAS A. BROOKS, Minority Counsel (II) James T. Lynn, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Develop- ment; accompanied by Floyd H. Hyde, Under Secretary; Michael Moskow, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research; James Mitchell, General Counsel; Sheldon Lubar, FHA Commissioner; Dan Kearney, Deputy to Mr. Lubar; H. R. Crawford, Assistant Secre- tary for Housing Management; David Meeker, Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development; Gloria Toote, Assistant Secre- tary for Equal Opportunity; Sol Mosher, Assistant Secretary for Legis- lative Affairs; and Al Kliman, Deputy Director, Office of the Budget.. Panel from the United States Conference of Mayors composed of: Mayor Joseph Alioto, city of San Francisco, Calif., vice president, Mayor Lee Alexander, city of Syracuse, N. Y. Mayor Richard Hatcher, city of Gary, Ind.; cochairman, LAC.. Mayor Roy Martin, city of Norfolk, Va.; president, USCM... Mayor Norman Mineta, city of San Jose, Calif.; chairman, Community Kennon V. Rothchild, chairman, Washington office, Mortgage Bankers Association; accompanied by Lee B. Holmes, legislative counsel Anthony R. Henry, on behalf of the National Tenants Organization; ac- Gus C. Cramer, executive vice president, Communications Workers of America; accompanied by Hall Sisson, legislative staff. Barlow Burke, Jr., associate professor of law, American University Law Winfield Dunn, Governor of the State of Tennessee, representing the National Governors Conference; accompanied by Joseph H. Torrence, acting executive director of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency; and Richard W. Lincoln, special assistant, National Governors Con- Norman Strunk, vice president, United States Savings and Loan League__ George C. Martin, on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders; accompanied by Carl A. S. Coan, Jr.; Nathaniel H. Rogg: and Michael Robert W. Maffin, the National Association of Housing and Redevelop- ment Officials; accompanied by: Mary Nenno and John Maguire.. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND DATA American Bankers Association, statement and news release on home Boston Housing Authority, statement of John P. Connolly, commissioner Housing and Urban Development Department, answers to written ques- Page 306 376 31 Reprint from Housing Starts Bulletin__ 273 National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc., statement from John- 343 National Governors' Conference: Letter to HUD from Daniel J. Evans, chairman_. 214 215 National League of Insured Savings Associations, statement of William L. 368 New Brunswick, N.J., letter from Mayor Patricia Q. Sheehan. 83 U.S. Conference of Mayors, answers to written questions of Senator Taft_ ADMINISTRATION'S 1973 HOUSING PROPOSALS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1973 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS, Washington, D.C. The committee met at 10:10 a.m. in room 5302, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator John Sparkman [chairman of the committee] presiding. Present: Senators Sparkman, Proxmire, Williams, Stevenson, Biden, Tower, Taft, Packwood, Brooke, and Weicker. The CHAIRMAN. Let the committee come to order, please. The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, starting today, is conducting 3 days of hearings on the administration's proposed housing legislation for 1973 which was received by the Congress only yesterday. This legislation is long overdue. We had hoped to have it last spring. In fact, when this new session of Congress opened, the leadership wanted early work on a comprehensive housing bill and I had announced that we might get it out in April, but we had a new Secretary and he said he would have to have time to work up legislation. We tried to push him to a June date but he said the best he could do was September. We would have made it in September if the last day had not been on Sunday, I guess, but, Mr. Secretary, we are glad to have you here this morning. Now that we have the administration's proposals, we intend to move forward as rapidly as possible toward marking up a comprehensive bill for passage in the Senate, hopefully by the end of this month. We have not had a comprehensive housing bill approved by the Congress since 1970. This is unfortunate, because there are many provisions in existing law which are outdated and unworkable. Now, new approaches which would consolidate the community development categorical programs and simplify outdated housing laws were considered in the Congress for 2 years before being approved in a bill which passed the Senate last year. Unfortunately, the bill did not clear the House before adjournment and so another year has gone by without corrective legislation. The committee was prepared to press forward with legislation early this year but, as we all know, the President's moratorium on housing programs announced on January 5 called a halt to developing a new bill. I have expressed myself many times before on the subject of the moratorium. To me it is an unjustifiable use of executive power which has seriously slowed down our effort to reach the national goal of a decent, safe, and sanitary house for every American family. (1) |