Washington, DC - President Trump’s budget slashes critical resources used to house some of the country’s lowest-income and most vulnerable seniors, people with disabilities, people of color, families with children, veterans, and formerly homeless individuals. At a time when America’s housing crisis has reached historic heights with the lowest income people suffering the most severe impacts, proposals to further cut these vital resources are unconscionable and unacceptable.
The president proposes deep cuts to safety-net programs that provide food, housing and health care to the nation’s lowest-income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children and others, in order to pay for massive tax cuts for wealthy corporations and people and to further expand our bloated military budget. With this proposal, President Trump and Secretary Carson make clear their willingness to increase evictions and homelessness – through rent hikes for some of the lowest income people in subsidized housing and slashing or eliminating funding for programs that keep the poorest people in our country affordably and safely housed.
After months of bluster, threats and feigned concern from Trump and Secretary Carson for the country’s increased homelessness, they propose flat funding for homeless assistance grants. The best opportunity for Carson to show his commitment to ending homelessness is in his federal spending proposal and here he proposes cuts and policy changes that will only exacerbate the crisis.
The administration callously disregards its responsibility to the millions of households living in deteriorating public housing and to low-income people and communities working to recover and rebuild after disasters by eliminating critical resources for public housing, rental housing construction and community development. We’ve seen (and defeated) these proposals from Secretary Carson and President Trump many times before but it bears repeating - this is a cruel and unconscionable budget proposal, and Congress must soundly reject it. NLIHC will work with partners and allies throughout the country and in Congress to ensure they do.
For a full analysis of the request, go to: https://tinyurl.com/yx3p54au
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About NLIHC: Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that ensures people with the lowest income in the United States have affordable and decent homes.