Members of Congress sent letters to HUD Secretary Ben Carson expressing their concerns about the agency’s proposals to raise rents and impose work requirements on HUD-assisted households.
In a joint letter, Senators Kamala Harris (CA) and Dianne Feinstein (CA) wrote, “These proposals would leave even more low-income people without stable housing, making it harder for them to achieve upward economic mobility, and live with dignity.” They expressed concerns about their constituents in California, where high rents have left more than half of residents in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego cost-burdened. The letter also includes questions for Dr. Carson regarding HUD’s decision-making process related to the proposed changes and the potential impacts on low income families.
In a separate letter, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) stated that the proposed changes would impact 4.1 million households nationally, 72,400 of which reside in her home state of Minnesota. “Under current budget levels there is already a lack of funding to address the shortage of affordable housing in this country,” wrote Ms. Smith. “Your proposal would only exacerbate an already troublesome situation.”
Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) led the Democratic members of the New York City congressional delegation in sending a letter in opposition to the Trump proposal. The letter states, “This proposal will force tenants to choose between basic nutrition, access to health care, and any semblance of financial self-sufficiency. These are real, heartbreaking decisions that parents, grandparents, and those responsible for dependents will have to take into consideration when setting a weekly or monthly budget in the face of even greater financial restrictions because of this proposal.”
Read the letter from Senators Harris and Feinstein at: https://bit.ly/2rkBxJE
Read the letter from Senator Smith at: https://bit.ly/2rfSBB5
Read the letter from Representative Espaillat at: https://bit.ly/2rjMlHF