Dr. Dennis Culhane from the University of Pennsylvania says the typical homeless family consists of a mother and two children. He says the children are likely to be under six, saying this speaks to a woman’s opportunity in the labor market due to day care. He also says a disproportionate number of families are African-American. (0:40)
Mark Johnston from the Office of Community Planning and Development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development says HUD’s 2007 homeless assessment showed a 30 percent drop in chronic homelessness. He says a reduction of homelessness in the hardest to reach population in the United States is stunning. (0:51)
Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) testified in a hearing for the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. He said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) needs to get its priorities in order and produce the National Disaster Housing Strategy, which was due in July 2007 as part of the Post-Katrina Reform Act of 2006. He said that 5,741 families still living in temporary housing units provided by FEMA.
He said that The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been diverting funds that were necessary for reconstruction in Mississippi. Thompson said that the Governor of Mississippi redistributed $600 Million of HUD money that was appropriated for building low to middle income housing and diverted it towards a project towards port expansion. Thompson said that this is one of the major problems facing Mississippi, along with the fact that there are only 1,500 available rental properties statewide.
He said that we must hold federal agencies accountable for their mistakes, especially when they endanger the health of disaster victims.
At the Senate Appropriations Committee, Joint Subcommittee meeting on “Homeless Veterans,” Senator Patty Murray(D-WA) said when our country fails to live up to obligations to our veterans, there is a result of high rates of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and chronic unemployment, and all of these are contributing factors to homelessness. Experts estimate that 1 in 4 of all the nation’s homeless are veterans. Our veterans are heroes, she said, and we must ensure that they never reach the point of homelessness. Women veterans are the fastest growing group of homeless veterans, and we must ensure that the Veteran’s Administration evolves along with the needs of the veterans that it is serving, but HUD (Housing and Urban Development) must take steps to promote affordable housing. (more…)
The House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing concerning foreclosure prevention and sound mortgage servicing.
The committee interrogated a panel of governmental housing program leaders including Laura Maggiano, Deputy Director of the Office of Single Family Asset Management at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Maggiano defended HUD’s assistance to families unable to finance their homes amid strong criticism from each congressional representative at the hearing, particularly Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA).
Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) told the panel that with our country experiencing “approximately 20,000 foreclosures a week” that we have“more than a casual problem”. (more…)
Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, held a press conference this morning announcing his withdrawal from the office. Due to “personal and family matters”, April 18 will be the Secretary’s last day in office. In his statement, Secretary Jackson mentioned his achievements during the seven years in office and expressed his gratuity to the President for giving him the chance to “make America a better place to live.” Directly after the Conference, the Secretary left the room without responding to any questions. (02:14)
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) criticizing Secretary Alphonso Jackson at Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs hearing on oversight of H.U.D. program and its fiscal year 2009 budget. (1:02)
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson testified before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee today regarding oversight of HUD program and its fiscal year 2009 budget. Jackson’s comments about the HUD program were met with both criticism and support from Senators of both parties.
Jackson’s program was particularly called into question by democrats skeptical that the funding requested by the Bush Administration for HUD was insufficient in helping to slow the increasingly high rate of housing foreclosures dooming homeowners across the nation.
Chaired by Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Senators Casey (D-PA) and Menendez (D-NJ) engaged in often heated discussion with Jackson over not only their frustration with his lack of success as Secretary, but also over allegations that members of his staff had acted in a controversial manner. Jackson, citing the fact that the case was still not being made public, refused to discuss the case in front of Congress. The verbal jabs of Casey and Menendez were met with support for Jackson and his efforts by other Senators, particularly Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO).
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson says the largest part of the budget is affordable rental housing. Combined, this budget seeks 29 billion for the rental assistance program which they estimate will help more than 4.8 million households. We need to maintain the units currently available in addition to expanding the numbers. Finally, he says, the homeless have not been forgotten, and for the first time ever they have seen a decrease chronic homelessness, a drop of 12%. We must continue the progress, he says. (:48)
At the House Financial Services Committee Full committee hearing on the Housing and Urban Development Department’s (HUD) FY2009 Budget, Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) said the proposed Budget is seriously inadequate, and the cutbacks are “distressing.” At the city level, there is the sub-prime crisis and foreclosures. Frank said the funding of the war in Iraq has caused substantial deductions and cuts in other areas, which results in a under funding of Urban initiatives. He said he expresses “deep unhappiness: in the cutting of money to the cities. He said it is an uncompassionate example of public policy.
Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) said in recent years the house market has fueled the economy, and that nearly 70% of adults own their own homes. A sharp rise in foreclosures have made lenders reevaluate the lending process, Bachus said, and many Americans struggle to make payments. It doesn’t seem fair, Bachus said, to shift the responsibility from home owners to everyday taxpayers, just because the house values are going down.
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said Congress should allow the FHA some flexibility in setting premiums, so they can offer “safe” refinance options. He said he believes that FHA Secure has proven already that it is extremely valuable, and setting FHA home loan limits would provide availability to help more people. Last year, 96% who completed HUD’s program avoided foreclosure.
A large part of the Budget, Jackson said, is for low-income rental housing. They have been making strives to help the chronic homeless, and the proposed Budget seeks to increase the homeless program. Also, nine hundred and eighty vouchers would be able to be used with the Veteran’s Administration to help homeless vets.
