Bush
rent-aid cuts would be a disaster
New York Daily News
March 25, 2004
Column by Albor Ruiz
http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/176808p-153903c.html
'Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket
fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who
hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not
clothed," said President Dwight D. Eisenhower more than
40 years ago. And we could add that it also means robbing
people of their fundamental right to having a roof over their
heads.
A new plan by the Bush administration "to
streamline" the federal rent subsidy plan known as
Section 8 - if approved by Congress - would inevitably mean a
drastic increase in the city's already unmanageable homeless
population.
Yet, even if thousands of Americans are pushed out to the
streets, Washington does not feel the need "to
streamline" the costs of the war and occupation of Iraq
- and keeps pouring billions of dollars into it.
"This is really bad for New York, it's really bad for
our nation, it's really bad for working families," said
Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn), speaking Monday at a City
Hall news conference about Bush's proposed Section 8 changes.
There is no doubt that for New York it is a disaster. The
plan would cut $104 million from the city's Section 8 share
beginning Oct. 1.
With some 112,000 people getting Section 8 vouchers in the
city - 90,000 of them administered by the city Housing
Authority - the Bush plan would wreak havoc in the city.
"This is a bad, bad proposal that would cost New York
City more than any other locality in the country," said
Councilwoman Margarita López (D-Manhattan), "because we
have more vouchers than anybody else."
Section 8 vouchers cover the difference between the total
amount of the rent and the 30% of their income families pay.
Without the vouchers, thousands of families will not be able
to afford to keep a roof over their heads.
Bush's plan calls for slashing $1.6 billion from the program
by 2005. By 2009, the cut would go up to $6.1 billion.
The proposal also would eliminate two key requirements: That
families pay no more than 30% of their income on rent and
that 75% of all new vouchers must be awarded to poor families
- families who earn $15,000 or less for a family of two in
New York City.
"The Bloomberg administration acknowledges that there
are 38,000 homeless families in the city today," López
said. "If the Bush proposal goes through, 112,000
families risk becoming homeless."
Not surprisingly the mayor opposes the changes, and Tino
Hernández, chairman of the city's Housing Authority, will
convey his position to Congress today.
Let's hope he is successful. Because, if approved by
Congress, the Bush plan would mean that, this year alone,
approximately 13,233 families are at risk of losing their
Section 8 vouchers.
This number is projected to increase to 31,758 by fiscal year
2009, which means that tens of thousands of low-income
families could become homeless over the next five years.
As Velázquez said while calling on Mayor Bloomberg and Gov.
Pataki to oppose the President's plan, "What will happen
to the city's working families? Where are they going to
go?"
A good question.
Obviously, the President's proposal to modify Section 8, with
its dire consequences for thousands of families, is not only
a reckless idea but an unnecessary one.
It's only a matter of controlling the gigantic amounts of
money Washington keeps pouring into Iraq.