The National Federation of Federal Employees is standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of Local 1450 and those working within The Department of Housing and Urban Development. We are obligated to fight the Trump Administration’s proposed budget, which will cut HUD funding by over 13 percent for fiscal year 2018.
The Washington Post reports, “The Trump administration has considered more than $6 billion in cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], according to preliminary budget documents. The plan would squeeze public housing support and end most federally funded community development grants, which provide services such as meal assistance and cleaning up abandoned properties in low-income neighborhoods.”
If enacted, President Trump’s budget will eliminate several community development programs, such as the Community Development Block Grant, the HOME Investment Partnership Program, the Choice Neighborhoods program, and many others. These programs are vital to communities with low-income citizens, especially for veterans, the elderly, and those with disabilities. Cuts in funding will result in an increase in homelessness, starvation, and the decline of neighborhoods in urban areas.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will be responsible for the promotion and passage of President Trump’s budget, however, the draconian measures have an insignificant effect on the district that Ryan represents, yet will be devastating for other parts of the country. In Speaker Ryan’s District (Wisconsin-1), losing HUD funding or oversight would have a negligible impact, as the amount of unsheltered homeless is just 5% of the homeless population in the district, according to HUD statistics. However, in California District 34, where the HUD Los Angeles Field Office is located, the unsheltered homeless account for roughly 61% of the total homeless population, or 23,090 people.
The proposed budget will further increase the number of unsheltered homeless people, as well as the workload for HUD staff, who already do not receive the necessary resources to help these individuals. HUD workers rely on current community programs in order to provide relief to homeless shelters, but will be faced with an escalated challenge if these programs are cut. Staff members from HUD are vital to supporting their communities, as they keep shelters open by solving problems, ensuring regulations are followed, and providing technical assistance to those who work the shelters.
Further, whereas the Speaker has 4,214 Section 8 housing units in Wisconsin District 1, California District 34 has 7,407 (or roughly 76% more) Section 8 units. The proposed cuts to HUD funding will displace many of these tenants out of their homes and onto the streets, as landlords will be forced to accept more people into their occupancies from the general public, instead of those who rely on HUD assistance.
NFFE is encouraging you to use the Community Assessment Reporting Tool (CART) to see how and where HUD funding is being used in your Congressional District. Learn how your community will be affected if the HUD budget is slashed. Take a look at the “sheltered” homeless population and then think about what will happen if they are suddenly “unsheltered.”
Click here to oppose HUD program cuts using the IAM Legislative Action Center.