A group of 12 Democratic Senators sent a letter on June 18 to congressional leadership urging them to lift the budget caps mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 so Congress can prioritize programs for low-income families, specifically affordable housing and child-care assistance. As the largest discretionary, non-entitlement programs, affordable housing and child-care programs are particularly vulnerable to the devastating, across-the-board cuts of more than 9% that would take effect without a budget caps deal.
The House has already passed several spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2020, but leaders in the House and Senate are still negotiating a budget deal with the White House. Although the House Transportation and HUD (THUD) spending legislation builds on previous spending increases for housing programs, the senators note that funding levels are still not adequate to meet the need, with only one in five families with children who qualify for housing assistance receiving it.
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Robert Casey (D-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MI), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) signed the letter.
Read the full letter at: https://tinyurl.com/y4m5poxp