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U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is leading a Democratic Party outcry against the Trump administration‘s major cuts to a decades-old program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that works to reduce homelessness in the United States.
The longtime congresswoman and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, joined by dozens of Democratic members of Congress, slammed HUD’s more than 50% cut to permanent housing funding for the agency’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program.
Established under President George W. Bush, the program provides funding for comprehensive and community-wide approaches to addressing and ending homelessness, including local support to rehouse individuals and families, promote self-sufficiency, and improve access to services. On Nov. 13, HUD announced that it would reduce its CoC funding for permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs from 86% of funds to 30%.
In a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner, led by Rep. Waters, House Democrats warned that the slashing of funds would create funding gaps and “worsen” the homelessness crisis in America, which is disproportionately impacting Black and Brown Americans. Black Americans make up about 32% of the more than 771,000 people experiencing homelessness, despite making up only 13% of the population.
The letter cautions that the funding cuts will also impact people with disabilities, veterans, domestic violence survivors, women with children, and more.
“It is a low-barrier approach used to provide stable and affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness without preconditions to ensure the most basic necessities like shelter and food are first met,” said the letter. “It also ensures individuals have access to supportive services that are necessary to achieve successful outcomes, whether it be employment, substance abuse treatment, or mental health services.”
Waters and other Democrats also rebuked a new “extremely compressed application timeline” for recipients of program funds, which gives applicants only 60 days to apply. The House members called it an “unreasonably short timeframe,” considering the application process takes nearly 80 calendar days to complete and submit to HUD.”
“This reckless timing will put critical homeless services at risk, leave rents unpaid, and put the most vulnerable people back on the streets,” Waters and the other lawmakers warned. They urged the Trump administration to rescind the “harmful” funding decision and renew current grants under the previous fiscal year.
The Democrats added that the “evidence-based solutions” funded by the CoCs program will ensure that communities “receive the critical funds necessary to continue supporting people experiencing homelessness.”
