National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness Action Alert

On July 22, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2005 VA-HUD funding bill. While the bill provides $1.5 billion more for the Section 8 program than President Bush’s request and rejects the Administration's “flexible voucher” proposal, it pays for this by cutting most other critical housing programs, rather than identify and provide new sources of funding.

Cuts Include (Below FY 2004 Levels):

Public Housing Operating Fund, cut by $154 million

HOME Program, cut by $86 million

Homeless Assistance Grants, cut by $54 million

Housing for the elderly cut by over $32 million

Housing for persons with AIDS cut by $13 million

Housing for persons with disabilities cut by $11 million

These cuts are unacceptable. More than 14 million people pay over 50% of their income on housing, 5 million renter households live in "worst case" housing situations, 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year, and the poorest renters face a lack of over 2 million affordable units. The American housing crisis takes place against the backdrop of recent U.S. Census data, which revealed that 34.6 million Americans are living in poverty.

The Senate will consider the bill in September when Congress returns from the summer recess. Your calls and letters are needed to tell Senators and Representatives to fully fund Section 8 and all housing programs, and reject any attempts to reduce HUD funding.

What you can do:

Send a letter to your Senators and Representative, and call both their district and Washington, DC offices. Inform them of these drastic cuts and the impact they will have on your state and community. To find your Member of Congress, enter your zip code online at: http://congress.org/congressorg/home/ or, call the Congressional switchboard at 1-888-818-6641

If your Representative is on the House Appropriations Committee tell them how the Committee’s action will affect your community. For a list of committee members: http://www.npach.org/appropriations.htm
Contact the media in your area and inform them of the House decision to slash funding for critical housing programs.

NPACH's recommendations on the FY 2005 VA-HUD bill are available here.