the initial occupancy of the housing project; and the cost of such other items as the Administrator shall determine to be necessary for the development and financing of the housing project, or (2) the cost, as approved by the Administrator, incurred by the borrower in, and necessary for, the acquisition of a housing project developed with a loan made under this Act. (d) "Gross income" for any project fiscal year shall mean the total rents and revenues and other income derived from, or in connection with, the housing project during such project fiscal year. (e) "Minimum interest payment" for any project fiscal year shall mean an amount equal to 2 per centum on the average balance of the loan outstanding during such operating year. (f) "Operating expenses" for any project fiscal year shall mean the amounts, as approved by the Administrator, necessary to meet the reasonable and proper costs of, and to provide for, operating and maintaining the housing project, and to establish and maintain reasonable and proper reserves for repairs, maintenance, and replacements, and other necessary reserves, and shall include amortization and the minimum interest payment on the loan made hereunder, necessary expenses for real estate taxes, special assessments, administrative expenses, and insurance charges, together with such other expenses as the Administrator shall determine to be necessary for the proper operation and maintenance of the housing project. (g) "State" includes the several States, the District of Columbia, and the Territories, dependencies, and possessions of the United States. (h) "Rent" shall mean the monthly charges, to the members, in the case of a borrower of the character described in clause (1) of section 11 (a) hereof, or to the tenants, in the case of a borrower of the character described in clause (2) of section 11 (a) hereof, in consideration of which occupancy of a dwelling in a housing project is permitted by the borrower. (i) "Administrator" means the Housing and Home Finance Administrator ACT CONTROLLING SEC. 12. Insofar as the provisions of any other law are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall be controlling. SEPARABILITY SEC. 13. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this Act, all powers and authorities conferred by this Act shall be cumulative and additional to and not in derogation of any powers and authorities otherwise existing. Notwithstanding any other evidences of the intention of Congress, it is hereby declared to be the controlling intent of Congress that if any provisions of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this Act or its applications to other persons and circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the provisions of this Act or the application thereof to the persons and circumstances directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will adjourn to reconvene tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. (Whereupon, at 4:15 p. m., the committee adjourned, to reconvene on Thursday, July 28, 1949, at 10 a. m.) HOUSING AMENDMENTS OF 1949 . THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1949 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, Washington, D. C. The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a. m., the Honorable Brent Spence (chairman) presiding. Present: Messrs. Spence, Brown, Patman, Monroney, Buchanan, Deane, McKinnon, Kunkel, Talle, McMillen, Cole, and Nicholson. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order and we will resume the hearing on H. R. 5631. Congressman Lind, of Pennsylvania, desires to make a statement. STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES F. LIND, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA Mr. LIND. Mr. Chairman, I have a brief statement that I would like to read and I ask unanimous consent that a letter I have, addressed to me by the attorneys representing a group of veterans in the city of New York, and also 600 tenants of property surrounding this area, be included as part of the record. The CHAIRMAN. That may be done. You may proceed. (The letter above referred to is as follows:) Hon. JAMES F. LIND, Old House Office Building, Washington, D. C. JULY 26, 1949. SIR: It has come to our attention that' Senator Sparkman has introduced a bill in the Senate known as S. 2246, wherein under section 606 of said bill the Housing Administrator will be specifically authorized to convey war-housing projects of the Federal Government to local public housing authorities for use as low-rent housing projects. For your information, War Housing Project No. P. A. 36295 is located in York, Pa., and known as Yorktown Homes, and is included in said bill. This office has been retained by two groups of people who are definitely opposed to acquisition of this project by the York Housing Authority for the purposes above stated. The first group is composed of 112 veteran residents of this project, for whom we are in the process of forming a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of enabling said veterans through said corporation to secure title to their homes in the project aforesaid. It might be added that it is the intention of the veteran members to admit into membership of the corporation a sufficient number of nonveteran residents of the project so as to enable the said corporation to purchase the entire project which consists of 220 units. The passage of this bill as it now reads would defeat the purposes for which we are forming the aforesaid corporation, and would deprive the veterans of the right to purchase their homes. In addition to such right, these veterans would also face ultimate eviction because they are all in a salary group higher than that which would be acceptable to qualify a family for low-rental housing. The second group consists of 600 property owners in the vicinity of the aforesaid housing project, who are thoroughly convinced that the acquisition of said project by the local housing authority could only lead to depreciation of the project itself, and depreciation of the value of their lands and homes by reason of the same. It is the feeling of the veterans, the residents, and owners of properties in the vicinity of said project, and real estate and businessmen in the community, that it would be a serious error for such acquisition to take place. While admitting the need of low rental houses in York, all the groups aforesaid feel that such acquisition will not accomplish any solution of that problem. We are of the opinion that with the exception of the mayor and the council of the city of York, all other local taxing bodies are opposed to the idea of such conversion to low-rent housing for the reasons aforesaid, and also for the inevitable loss of tax revenue. We might add that the opinions of the aforesaid veterans group and the group of property owners in the vicinity have been expressed by petitions, which petitions have been filed with the mayor, the city council of York, the school board of York and the county commissioners, as well as the public housing authority, copies of which petitions, together with all other papers in our files, are at your disposal. We feel that there is a mandate from the people of this community that you, as our representative in Congress, use every effort and means to have the aforesaid War Housing Project No. P. A. 36295 removed from section 606 of the aforesaid Senate bill, and from any similar housing bill which has been, or may be introduced in the House of Representatives. We trust that you will see fit to cooperate in this matter, and urge you to feel free to call upon us for any additional information that you may deem to be necessary. Sincerely yours, BUDDING & YOST, Mr. LIND. I represent the Twenty-first Congressional District of Pennsylvania which comprises York, Adams, and Franklin Counties. I am here for the purpose of requesting your committee to delete from section 606 of H. R. 5631, project No. 36295, which would transfer to the Housing Authority of the City of York the Yorktowne Homes. Yorktowne Homes is a Lanham Act permanent war housing project. At present, a group of veteran tenants and nonveteran tenants have banded together for the purpose of purchasing this project. A petition had been sent to the Public Housing Administration under date of May 26, 1949, expressing their views and objections to the acquisition of Yorktowne Homes, by this group, through their attorneys. I have personal reason to believe that the local housing authority of the city of York would be opposed to the acquisition of these homes by that authority. A petition with approximately 600 signatures, representing property owners surrounding the Yorktowne Homes, has been presented to the local housing authority on the grounds that if turned into low rental housing it would decrease the value of their properties. This same petition has been presented to the county commissioners, the school board and to the city council, these groups representing the local taxing authorities. It is my opinion that the majority of the local taxing bodies would not agree to accept a token payment in lieu of taxes on this project, in the event it would be turned over then to the local housing authority. I have also received numerous letters opposing the transfer of these homes to the local housing authority. I have had but one letter in favor of this transfer and that was over the signature of the mayor of the city of York, Mr. Felix Bentzel. It is my opinion that the present occupants of these homes should be given an opportunity to buy them rather than let them be transferred to the local housing authority under the provisions of this bill. Mr. PATMAN. Mr. Holder was to be here from Dallas, Tex., but he had an unfortunate accident and he is unable to be here. I have a telegram that I would like to insert in the record and also a letter he had written me about the housing project at Dallas which is along the line of Mr. Westbrook's testimony yesterday, which relates to a specific problem. The CHAIRMAN. That may be inserted in the record. (The telegram referred to is as follows:) Col. LAWRENCE WESTBROOK, Trans-American Development Corp.: Have suffered an accident, with broken bones in right hand and wrist and arm in cast. Have partial paralysis in left arm. Am unable to care for myself and cannot travel alone. Very sorry because I feel that mutual ownership is so important and our pilot projects have been so successful that the congressional committee should know all these facts first-hand. Please say to them from us that in two projects are 600 satisfied families with a feeling of shelter security equal to any fee ownership. The cohesive society makes for better participation in civic events, welfare matters, political consciousness and recreational affairs. They have established a sound financial structure and maintain their premises in a highly creditable manner with few exceptions. The rare exception of poor maintenance is dealt with in an orderly manner and the derelict member required to pay the charges. If you think it wise would be glad to fly plastic audograph record of testimony but think that you and Major Griggs can handle. RAY HOLDER. WILLARD HOTEL, Hon. WRIGHT PATMAN, Washington, D. C., May 10, 1949. New House Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR WRIGHT: In connection with the consideration of your cooperative housing bill, H. R. 2811, I wish to submit you the following: (1) I have managed Dallas Park and Avion Village since they were first built nearly 8 years ago. (2) We are providing good, comfortable homes in Dallas Park for from $30 to $40 a month ranging in size from one bedroom, living room, kitchen and bath to three bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bath. These charges of from $30 to $40 a month include the building up of very substantial reserves- at least $10 a month of these charges being allocated to such reserves, plus $4 a month as of this date for ownership equities. (3) Rental charges for similar accommodations in the same areas as these projects run anywhere from two to three times what mutual owners are paying. I control some rental properties myself and I am getting $90 a month rent for a three-bedroom house that is not nearly as good as mutual owners in Dallas Park are paying $42 a month for. And it should be noted that the Dallas Park members are buying their homes and will have them paid for within 15 years. (4) The civic pride of the residents of our projects is amazing. They stand higher in the estimation of Dallas citizenship as a whole than the residents of any other neighborhood. In order to obtain credit at Dallas stores, our mutual residents need only prove they are members of the corporation. We have never lost a dime in collection. (5) We have the lowest divorce rate in Texas, if not in the Nation-only three divorces having been granted in 2 years. We have practically no juvenile delinquency. We never had a traffic accident involving a child. (6) Our actual experience has proved beyond any question that under mutual home ownership the housing problems of the great majority of American families can be solved without Government subsidy. We don't have to guess at it or theorize about it- we know it. (7) I have had a good deal of experience in real estate. I don't believe there is ani ndividually owned home in Dallas which does not have something about it that needs repairing. There is not a single home in Dallas Park or Avion Village that needs any repair of any kind whatsoever. The exteriors and interiors of the homes in Dallas Park and Avion Village are far superior in appearance to individually owned homes and rented homes in the city of Dallas as a whole. |