April 6, 2005
Members of United Housing
C/O Matt Noyes
29 Stanhope Street
Boston , MA 02116
Dear Friends at United Housing,
Thank you for your letter letting me know of your concerns about the status of affordable and accessible housing for people with disabilities. I agree with you that the President's proposed cuts to these programs would be devastating and unnecessary and I have been leading the fight against these cuts in Congress. I have been working with special effort to restore funding to the programs that you highlight in your letter--Section 811, Section 8 and HOPWA.
I agree with you that Congress must reject the fifty percent cut to Section 811 proposed by President Bush. When I led the questioning of the Secretary of HUD about the budget on March 2nd, I specifically cited the cuts in the disabilities housing program. I'm enclosing a copy of the related question and answer portion of this hearing. I also spearheaded the Democratic Additional Housing Views that address the problems with the HUD Budget and specifically the proposed cuts to Section 811 (see the bottom of the second page of the enclosed views).
I also am opposed to the block-granting of Section 8 and any other means the current Administration has attempted to employ to cut and weaken the program. Last year I was successful in leading efforts in Congress to restore $1.6 billion in proposed cuts to the Section 8 program and also in defeasting the President's block-grant proposal. I will continue my efforts to defend Section 8 in the negotiation of the FY 2006 Budget. On March 17th, I took part in a Roundtable Hearing on Section 8 Vouchers in the Housing Subcommittee, working to oppose block-granting of the program.
I agree with you that it is necessary that Congress rejects the proposed cuts to HOPWA and increases it's [sic] funding. I, and several members of Congress, sent a letter (enclosed) to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Housing, and Urban Development on March 18th requesting a funding level of at least $385 million for HOPWA in the 2006 Budget.
It is regrettable that the Bush Administration is more interested in handing out large tax cuts that are disproportionately tilted to the wealthy than ensuring the survival of programs that are essential in taking care of the needs of the most vulnerable members of our society. I will continue to fight against these distorted priorities.
Barney Frank
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