Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee's hearing on the fiscal year 2020 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development:
I’d like to thank my friends Chairman Price and Ranking Member Diaz-Balart for holding this hearing today. Secretary Carson, thank you for joining us.
Mr. Secretary, your budget is very similar to last year’s request, which this Committee rejected on a bipartisan basis. This year, your proposal contains even deeper cuts and would greatly reduce public housing and end most community development grants. It would lead to more people struggling to find affordable housing, and more people falling into homelessness.
For example, your budget would eliminate:
* Community Development Block Grants, which makes successful investments in community development such as affordable housing and anti-poverty programs;
* HOME Investment Partnerships which provides affordable housing for low and very low-income Americans; and;
* The primary source of funding for the development, financing, and modernization of public housing.
Some of the dramatic decreases in your request would cause great suffering and harm including cuts of:
* $63 million for housing for people suffering from HIV and AIDS;
* $198 million for tenant-based housing;
* $34 million for housing assistance for the elderly; and
* $27 million for housing assistance for the disabled.
There is no justification for these harsh cuts. This administration often makes the argument that it has no choice but to cut even the most critical programs to reduce the deficit. But the Republican tax bill alone will add $1.9 trillion to deficits from 2018 to 2027. There is no honest reconciliation of the two.
Let me be clear, these cuts do not exist in a vacuum. If enacted, they would cost taxpayers even more than current investments in the very types of assistance you propose to eliminate or severely cut.
Housing is the foundation on which the rest of a life is built. It is nearly impossible to go to school, get a job, raise a family, or age in place, without having a stable place to live. These investments play a big role in empowering hardworking families, giving children a good start in life and providing economic opportunity for all Americans.
I hope you will take these concerns seriously, and I look forward to a productive discussion today.
Thank you.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
