U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) issued the following statement after the House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act with a vote of 44-10.

“My legislation lays the groundwork, for the first time in years, to institute reforms to the programs and processes at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service. As I have said before, this legislation represents the first step in housing policy modernization by making many targeted reforms to streamline regulatory burdens and overhaul inefficient policies and regulations. We make these changes while saving taxpayer dollars. Today’s successful vote can be attributed to the broad collaboration of Members of the Financial Services Committee from both sides of the aisle. After months of negotiations, the Committee has passed legislation that takes into account many viewpoints that will foster positive change for housing in our country.”

Specifically, H.R. 3700 modernizes outdated rules and regulations to give state and local housing agencies and private owners enhanced flexibility in meeting key program objectives. In addition, the legislation provides a limitation on public housing tenancy for over-income families, and pays special attention to homeless veterans and children aging out of foster care.