President Signs Luetkemeyer Legislation to Reform Nation’s Housing Policies

WASHINGTON – (RealEstateRama) — President Obama has signed into law legislation that U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) introduced which would reform housing policies in America for the first time in decades.

“This is a historic time for housing in America,” Luetkemeyer said. “For the first time in over 50 years, there will be real reforms to the programs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service (RHS). I am proud to be part of a movement that will streamline and modernize housing programs, creating opportunity for American families and saving hard-earned taxpayer dollars. I want to thank my colleague from Missouri, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, for his leadership on this bill, and to commend my colleagues in the House and Senate for recognizing the importance of this legislation and getting it to the president’s desk.”

“As someone who grew up in public housing, I know personally the importance of having a safe, affordable home,” said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II. “I want to thank Congressman Luetkemeyer and Senator Blunt for their efforts. By working together we were able to pass one of the largest sweeping reforms of our nation’s housing programs in the last two decades, providing safe and affordable housing for all Americans.”

H.R. 3700 passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 427-0 and it passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

H.R. 3700 includes provisions to:

– Ensure that veterans have fair access to housing and homeless assistance programs.
– Authorize the RHS single family housing guaranteed loan program to delegate approval authority to preferred lenders.
– Extend the period for which a family could use a family unification housing voucher and increase the ceiling for the Family Unification Program voucher age requirement.
– Provide a thoughtful limitation on public housing tenancy for over-income residents.
-Save taxpayers $600 million over ten years.