Policy Federal
2009 Federal Policy Priorities
Including FY2010 Appropriations
The year 2009 will be a year of change. The Obama Administration comes to Washington with a tremendous opportunity to make the most significant reduction in homelessness in America, while helping communities respond with cost-effective solutions. As a result of rigorous research, evidence-based practices and the experience of providers on the ground we know how to end homelessness. With the correct blend of resources this can and will be achieved.
Collectively, we also know that ending homelessness by providing stable, supportive housing is a better investment than leaving homeless people stuck in the revolving door of high-cost crisis care and emergency shelter. Inpendent studies in communities across the nation have documented the extraordinary costs for ineffective emergency responses to long-term homelessness and the dramatic savings achieved – through reductions in the use of hospitals, ambulance services, emergency shelter, prisons and jails and crisis treatment facilities when long-term, permanent housing solutions are implemented.
The Advocacy Network has developed an agenda in cooperation with our national partners including but not limited to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Enterprise includes:
Economic Recovery Plan – $15.6 Billion to help prevent and end homelessness.
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$2 billion for homeless prevention: Funding would be used to provide housing search assistance, short or medium-term rental assistance, relocation funding, security and utility deposits, mortgage payments and case management to prevent and end homelessness. These funds would be distributed by formula to the jurisdictions that receive Emergency Shelter Grant Grants and would serve an estimated 200,000 households per year for two years.
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$10 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund (over two years): The Housing Trust Fund primarily develops affordable housing for people with extremely low incomes. Funding would be prioritized to assist projects that are already in the pipeline but stalled due to the financial crisis as well as projects that support local Ten Year Plans to End Homelessness.
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$3.6 billion for 400,000 Section 8 vouchers: The housing choice vouchers would serve people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
McKinney-Vento Reauthorization: On October 2, 2008, the House of Representatives approved H. R. 7221, submitted for the previously introduced H. R. 840, the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH). However, the Senate failed to pass this legislation prior to adjournment in 2008. The 111th Congress will take up the reauthorization of Mckinney-Vento and is likely to use H. R. 7221 as its starting point.
FY 2010 Appropriations
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Current funding level of SAMHSA is $56 million. The House version of the uncompleted FY 09 Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill recommended and increase of $21 million while the Senate version recommended level funding.
The FY 10 request for $120 million in SAMHSA funding for homeless programs for essential mental health and substance abuse treatment services linked to permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals and families. In addition, it would be targeted to homeless families, you and individual. The request would increase funding by $64 million over the FY 08 level.
Additional priorities
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act (SELHA): This would enable SAMHSA to fund services in permanent supportive housing. These services would include case management, mental health, substance abuse services and other services to help people stabilize in their housing and work toward recovery and self sufficiency.
Homes for Heroes: The Homes for Heroes Act was introduced in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 3329) and Senate (S. 1084), but was only voted on and passed by the House. This legislation would address the severe problem of veteran’s homelessness and housing crises by authorizing new housing vouchers for homeless veterans and their families create the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs at HUD, and a new $200 million housing production program to benefit low-income veterans. Currnetly this legilstion is beign reviewed prior prior to its reintroduction in this Congress.
Section 8 Voucher Reform (SEVRA): The Section Eight Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) is a proposal to reform and vastly improve the Section 8 program. Since 2004, approximately 150,000 of the nearly two million Section 8 vouchers have been lost because of a flawed funding formula that prevents all the resources provided by Congress from being spent. Under this formula, some public housing authorities get more vouchers than they can use, while other PHAs do not have sufficient funding for their vouchers. The Section Eight Voucher Reform Act would improve the flawed funding formula, among many other provisions to simplify and streamline the program. A working group organized by Barbara Sard of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is reviewing the SEVRA legislation and making recommendatiosns prior to its reintroduction in this Congress.