As the article points out, according to HUD and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, in 2009 4.6 million poor people received aid, while another 14.3 million who needed it did not. That means that for every single person who received assistance, three more needed it but weren't helped. Without HUD, we would have no McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants; we'd have no Housing Choice or VASH vouchers; we'd have no Community Development Block Grants. The elimination of HUD would be followed by a drastic increase in the number of our neighbors falling into homelessness, paired with the elimination of nearly every program in place to help them. It is not hyperbole to say that if HUD were eliminated and nothing put in its place, it would be an outright catastrophe, causing unimaginable levels of human suffering.

 

The news isn't all bad. Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (T-HUD) voted on a draft proposal for FY 2013 appropriations that actually includes, among other things, the largest one-year increase to HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants in nearly 20 years. That is definitely good news. But this is just one step in a long process before a final budget is potentially passed and sent to President Obama for his signature, and it will be up to advocates like us to continue fighting to protect the social services and safety nets our neighbors depend on.

 

Federal spending, cuts, budget, taxes, debt - these issues continue to have a huge impact on our ability to ensure that everyone has access to a safe, healthy, and affordable home. The week after next, we're going to be having a Learn at Lunch Webinar exploring these issues in depth. We have two really incredible guests slated to join us: Doug Rice, the Senior Housing Policy Analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Michael Linden, the Director for Tax and Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress. It will be Thursday, May 3rd at 12:00p, so save the date and we'll have the call-in information available shortly. We hope you can join us.