NPACH 2004 Legislative and Policy Agenda
Authorization of the
Bringing America Home Act
The Bringing America Home Act (HR 2897)
is a comprehensive bill designed to end homelessness in the
United States. It includes housing, health, income and civil
right components.
Housing provisions: Increases authorization levels of HUD, VA & USDA housing programs; establishes a National Housing Trust Fund; Provides 1,500,000 Section 8 vouchers for low-income families over ten years; makes permanent housing an eligible use of surplus federal property; authorizes a Mutual Housing demonstration program to provide SRO housing cooperatives and family-oriented cooperatives for working people experiencing homelessness; Establishes in the Treasury an Emergency Rent Relief Fund; Reauthorizes HUD McKinney-Vento programs; Permanently authorizes the financing of renewals for permanent housing projects initiated through HUD McKinney-Vento.
Education provisions: Requires that HUD Continuums of Care coordinate and collaborate with local school district homeless liaisons, and consider the school stability of children when shelter placements are made.
Health provisions: Reauthorization and strengthening of the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) and Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals (GBHI) programs; Strengthening of mainstream addiction and mental health services programs including the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant programs; Strengthening of services provided by the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act (RWCA) to people experiencing homelessness.
Income provisions: Day laborer fairness and protection; establishment of a ‘Home Build’ Program; requires the Social Security Administration to collect data, engage in outreach and expedite application processing of people experiencing homelessness; increases asset limit for SSI and provides presumptive eligibility for people experiencing homelessness; provides greater access to WIA services for people experiencing homelessness.
Creation of a National Housing Trust Fund
NPACH calls on Congress to authorize a National Housing
Trust Fund (HR 1102, S. 1411) as a revenue source for
the production of new housing and preservation or
rehabilitation of existing housing that is affordable for
poor people. The trust fund should be capitalized with
ongoing, permanent and sufficient sources of revenue to meet
the goal of 1.5 million new, preserved, or rehabilitated
affordable housing units within the next decade. The rental
housing that is made available through the trust fund should
be affordable for households with incomes less than 30
percent of area median income with priority to those earning
minimum wage and below.
Promote the development of affordable rental
housing in rural areas
Federal spending for rural rental housing has
been cut by 73 percent since 1994. Two-thirds of extremely
low-income and very low-income rural households do not have
access to affordable rental housing units, and 20 percent of
rural renters pay more than 50 percent of their income for
housing. The Rural Rental Housing Act of 2003 (HR 1722)
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide rural
rental assistance to very low-income families, low-income
communities, rural areas, and communities with severe lack of
affordable rental housing.
Guarantee of Universal Access to Health Care
NPACH calls on Congress to guarantee
universal access to comprehensive, quality, affordable health
care through universal health coverage with a single-payer
financing mechanism. As a first step, Congress should
pass the Health Care Access Resolution (HCR 99, SCR 41) directing
Congress to enact legislation to guarantee that every person
in the United States, regardless of income, age, employment,
housing or health status, has access to comprehensive,
affordable, quality health care.
Authorization of the Day Labor Fairness and
Protection Act
According to the General Accounting Office,
contingent workers comprise approximately 30 percent of the
workforce. These workers are particularly vulnerable to
nonpayment of wages, and the lack of access to social and
legal services leave few options for those seeking redress.
Day laborers struggle to survive in an industry that is beset
by low wages and worker abuses that perpetuate homelessness.
The Day Laborer Fairness and Protection Act (HR2870)
would guarantee day laborers the same protections as those
afforded permanent workers.
FY2005 Housing Appropriations
Section 8
Fully fund all housing choice vouchers currently in use and
provide additional funding for 150,000 new incremental
vouchers. Housing vouchers are the largest source of federal
housing assistance for low wage earners and people on limited
fixed incomes. The Housing Choice Voucher program provides
flexibility and options by issuing vouchers to eligible
households to help them pay the rent on open market units of
the households' choosing. Since 1976, requests for new
incremental voucher shave declined from 406,000 to zero in
the President’s FY2005 budget request.
$1.8 billion for HUD McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Programs
HUD McKinney-Vento provides access to
emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and
support services for people experiencing homelessness.
According to the US Conference of Mayors, requests for
emergency shelter have increased by 13 percent over the past
year, and 30 percent of requests for shelter went unmet due
to lack of capacity. HUD McKinney-Vento programs are needed
to provide immediate support to people experiencing
homelessness and to assist them in accessing housing and
service systems developed for all people.
$350 million for Housing Opportunities for Persons with
Aids (HOPWA)
People living with HIV/AIDS are at great risk of
homelessness, and lack of stable housing presents tremendous
barriers to adequate health care. The HOPWA program funds
comprehensive, community-based HIV-specific housing and helps
provide localities with the resources to create appropriate
housing strategies (transitional housing, rental assistance,
or community residences) for people with HIV/AIDS. The
current level of HOPWA funding does not meet demonstrated
need.
$502 million for Section 811 Supportive Housing for
Persons with Disabilities
This program, which serves as an important housing and
support services resource for people with disabilities,
provides funds to acquire, rehabilitate, construct new
housing, and subsidize rents. Since 1992 the program has been
cut by more than $100 million and a significant increase is
needed to provide much needed immediate housing and support
services as well as to help prevent homelessness.
$300 million for Section 515 Rural Rental Housing
This program administered by the Rural Housing Service
(RHS) division of USDA produces new units for the lowest
income rural renters. Rural rental housing unit production
financed by the Federal Government has been reduced by 88
percent since 1990. According to the Housing Assistance
Council (HAC), Section 515 once produced over 30,000 new
apartments every year, but has suffered sharp funding
reductions. In 2003 the program was funded at $115 million
and produced only 826 new units.