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HUD Secretary Ben Carson supports $6.2 billion in budget cuts to HUD

by Lynda Carson (tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com)
HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who recently bought a fancy $1.3 million home near D.C., in Vienna, Virginia, where he resides with his wife Candy, was A.W.O.L., and nowhere to be found by the media yesterday when it came time for him to step up to the plate on behalf of the poor, elderly and disabled, to oppose the proposed $6.2 billion in budget cuts that will harm hundreds of thousands of HUD’s subsidized households!
HUD Secretary Ben Carson supports $6.2 billion in budget cuts to HUD

By Lynda Carson - March 17, 2017

Oakland - American’s first are the ones to be placed at risk of homelessness according to released documents under the proposed $6.2 billion in budget cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Thousands of poor, disabled, and elderly HUD subsidized renters in Oakland are at risk of higher rents and homelessness, due to the Trump regime’s scheme to grab $54 billion in funds from our nation’s non-defense domestic programs, to shift the $54 billion in funds to the military, and security.

In the Bay Area according to HUD, the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) has 13,422 federally subsidized housing units in it’s section 8 inventory, and 2,122 units in it’s low rent inventory, formerly known as public housing units.

According to public documents, community wide there are 3,500 people on the wait-list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly called section 8 voucher program) in Oakland, and 3,000 people are on the wait-list for public housing. Both wait-lists are presently closed. In project-based voucher apartments managed by the OHA, there are 6,000 people in the wait-list which is also presently closed. In public housing apartments managed by a third party in Oakland there are 4,477 people on the wait-list, and the wait-list is open. And in project-based voucher apartments managed by a third party in Oakland, there are 28,325 people on the wait-list which is also open.

HUD’s subsidized housing programs are being placed at risk of having $6.2 billion or more in budget cuts, because President Donald J. Trump wants to cut $54 billion from our nation’s non-defense federal programs so the money can be shifted to wasteful military programs, and security.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson supports $6.2 billion in budget cuts to HUD

The proposed Trump regime’s $6.2 billion in budget cuts supported by HUD Secretary Ben Carson, are far short of last years funding recommendations for HUD’s programs that were made by the housing industry organizations known as PHADA, CLPHA and NAHRO. Reportedly, the Public Housing Authority leaders fear the proposed budget cuts that are being supported by HUD Secretary Ben Carson, because of what the budget cuts will mean for public housing, and subsidized housing programs for families and seniors.

In opposition to PHADA, CLPHA and NAHRO, Ben Carson, the new multi-millionaire HUD Secretary, announced in a statement from HUD that he supports the Trump regime’s proposed $6.2 billion in budget cuts to HUD’s programs. Shortly before Ben Carson was recently accepted as the new HUD Secretary, he double-crossed the poor, elderly, and disabled in HUD’s subsidized housing programs, by falsely claiming that he supports HUD’s subsidized housing programs, which he does not.

In a March 16 statement from HUD regarding Trump’s proposed $6.2 billion budget cut to HUD: Today, the Administration proposed a Fiscal Year 2018 spending blueprint for discretionary programs in several agencies across the Federal Government, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The blueprint reflects the President’s commitment to support HUD’s critical functions that provide rental assistance to low-income and vulnerable households and to help work-eligible families achieve self-sufficiency. It also recognizes a greater role for State and local governments, and the private sector to address community and economic development needs. Moreover, the spending plan supports the longstanding homeownership mission of the Federal Housing Administration to provide mortgage insurance to credit qualified households. A more detailed program-by-program budget proposal will be announced in May.”

HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who recently bought a fancy $1.3 million home near D.C., in Vienna, Virginia, where he resides with his wife Candy, was A.W.O.L., and nowhere to be found by the media yesterday when it came time for him to step up to the plate on behalf of the poor, elderly and disabled, to oppose the proposed $6.2 billion in budget cuts that will harm hundreds of thousands of HUD’s subsidized households. It appears that HUD Secretary Ben Carson, has been keeping a low-profile since he was recently hammered in the press for claiming that slaves were immigrants who came to America looking for a better way of life.

People are already wondering why HUD Secretary Ben Carson, supports the $6.2 billion in budget cuts to HUD, and why he remains silent about the proposed budget cuts. Reportedly, “During his confirmation hearing, Carson told U.S. senators, under oath, that he no longer supported the extreme cuts he had once campaigned on for President. He called such cuts “cruel and unusual punishment.” His support of this budget breaks his oath to Congress, and it calls into question the ethical oath he swore to live by when he became a physician: to do no harm.”

Due to the lack of trust for the new HUD Secretary Ben Carson, a new organization has sprung up in recent days called Carson Watch, and they plan to keep a close watch on the new HUD Secretary, and his activities.

In a March 16 message from Diane Yentel, of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, in part it reads: “President Trump’s budget slashes critical resources used to help keep housed some of the country’s lowest income and most vulnerable seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, veterans, and formerly homeless individuals. At a time when America’s housing crisis has reached historic heights and the lowest income people suffer the most severe impacts, proposals to further cut these vital resources are unconscionable and unacceptable.”

“President Trump proposes to cut overall HUD funding by 13% or $6.2 billion compared to 2016 levels. When compared to funding levels needed for FY 2017, the proposed cuts amount to a 15% or $7.5 billion reduction.”

“If enacted, Trump’s proposed budget would result in the most severe cut to HUD since President Reagan dramatically reduced funding in the early 1980s. Reagan’s deep spending cuts ushered in a new age of homelessness with a dramatic increase in the number of people sleeping on the streets, in cars, and in shelters. Years after those shortsighted and devastating cuts, a major infusion of resources were needed for homeless shelters and services. President Trump seems eager to follow in Mr. Reagan's footsteps, repeating his mistakes and working to make America homeless again.”

“These budget cuts would have a devastating impact on millions of the lowest income people across the country. More than 200,000 seniors, families, and people with disabilities will be at immediate risk of evictions and homelessness, and local communities will be starved of the funding they need to build and repair affordable homes and revitalize distressed communities.”

“President Trump proposes to eliminate Community Development Block Grants, the HOME Investment Partnerships program, Choice Neighborhoods grants, NeighborWorks America, and the Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program. His budget also would eliminate the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which coordinates the federal response to homelessness across 19 federal agencies, legal aid services that provide the only resource available to help deeply low income people avoid unwarranted evictions, and resources to help low income families heat their homes in winter.”

“President Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney would have us believe that their budget would continue to provide housing assistance to the 4.5 million low income families who currently rely on these resources. However, their proposal identifies only $4.1 billion of the $7.5 billion they propose to cut. While they suggest that the remaining $3.4 billion can be addressed through “reforms that reduce costs,” there is simply no way to make up for this funding gap without directly harming the low income people who currently receive and rely on HUD housing assistance.”
 
“Moreover, because the president proposes to reduce FY 2017 spending levels for non-defense programs by $18 billion, federal affordable housing resources could face even deeper spending cuts in the short term.”

“With his budget, President Trump has broken yet another campaign promise – this time, his vow to revitalize distressed communities. HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson has also reneged on the commitments he made during his confirmation process to “house as many families as possible in safe, affordable housing…and look for ways to expand affordable housing options everywhere.”

“According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) recently released report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, the U.S. has a shortage of 7.4 million affordable rental homes available to the lowest income people. Every state and congressional district is directly impacted by the growing housing crisis. Because of chronic underfunding of rental housing assistance programs, just one in four of the poorest people in America get the housing assistance they need. At a time when investments in affordable housing are needed to help low income families access safe, decent homes, achieve economic mobility, maintain better health, improve educational outcomes, and create jobs, these proposed cuts are deeply misguided and wrong.”

“This budget proposal must not and will not stand. Unlike President Trump’s plan to use budget reconciliation to reduce access to healthcare coverage for 24 million people, any spending bill will require at least 60 votes in the Senate. We will work with allies in Congress and with residents, partners, stakeholders, and advocates across the country to ensure that this budget proposal is dead on arrival. Congress must maintain funding for all critical affordable housing programs.”

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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