Earlier this week, Senator Patrick Leahy's office issued the
following (his opening statement in a Senate Appropriations Committee
hearing):
06.07.17
Statement Of Appropriations Vice Chair Leahy At Appropriations Hg. On HUD Budget, With Witness Secy. Ben Carson
Thank you, Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Reed for holding this important hearing.
I am very concerned
about President Trump’s budget for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development. This budget would leave low-income, elderly and disabled
Americans out in the cold. It would deny shelter to victims of domestic
and sexual violence. It would bring to a screeching halt programs that
spur economic development and help ensure that safe, sustainable and
affordable housing is available in our communities.
Bluntly, Secretary Carson, this budget is a travesty. It slashes
$7.3 billion from the work of your Department. It decimates Section 8
rental assistance grants that help keep very-low-income families, as
well as elderly and disabled Americans, in decent, safe housing. It
eliminates the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME
programs, which help drive economic development in more than 1,200
American cities, including in Vermont. Eliminating these programs
doesn’t just eliminate a Federal investment; these projects leverage
other public and private sources to make them a reality. For every
dollar we invest in CDBG projects $3.65 is leveraged in other public and
private resources. And, while I recognize that this does not fall
under the jurisdiction of your Department, the administration’s attack
on housing programs is only amplified with the elimination of
NeighborWorks, which in one year alone provided affordable housing for
more than 360,000 families, created and maintained more than 53,000
jobs, and leveraged its appropriation at a ratio of 91 to 1. Let me repeat that leverage ratio: 91 to 1. Under this budget, all of those dollars disappear. Secretary Carson, where are the people who rely on these programs supposed to go?
The President’s budget fails to include tenant-based rental
assistance for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking. In 2013, Senator Crapo and I worked together to
strengthen, expand and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Too
often, victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or
stalking remain in dangerous living situations simply because they have
nowhere to go. That in and of itself is devastating, but all too
frequently families have to make the tragic decision between becoming
homeless with their children, or staying in a house where either they
and/or their children may be subject to physical abuse. Your Department
should be working hand-in-hand with the Justice Department, which
administers the successful transitional housing assistance grant
program, to find effective ways to support these survivors and ensure
they have access to safe and affordable housing. Secretary Carson, what
will you tell these victims since you fail to support these programs in
this request?
Poverty is “no state of mind.” Housing is not a political issue; it
is a moral one. In Vermont, we know that housing people first is key to
helping them step out of poverty. With the help of Federal investments
like Homelessness Assistance Grants, states like Vermont have reduced
chronic homelessness by 45 percent, but this is only
possible with help from your Department. Communities across the
country know that, instead, your budget will close emergency shelters
and put people back on the streets. Secretary Carson, how will this
budget help the Department meet its mission?
Now is the time to invest in our Nation’s affordable housing
infrastructure – not to decimate it. This budget will eliminate the
investments and hands-on efforts that help families succeed. This
isn’t a “foundation for greatness.” This budget is a travesty.
Press Contact
David Carle: 202-224-3693
