Report Card 2009
Second Annual Congressional Report Card has been released!
Menendez, Payne and Holt rated A+!
2009 Honor Roll
Menendez – A+
Holt – A+
Payne – A+
Sires – A
Lautenberg – B+
Andrews – B+
Pascrell – B+
Rothman – B+
Adler – B
Pallone – B
Lance – B
LoBiondo – B
Smith – B
Frelinghuysen – C+
Garrett – D
Click on the icon to read a PDF version of the Second Annual Congressional Report Card!
The New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness is pleased to present the Second Annual Congressional Report Card. This Report Card documents how our two Senators and thirteen members of the House of Representatives voted on key issues related to ending homelessness in New Jersey. The ratings are based on votes on four key issues and attendance at the 2009 Congressional Reception. Because we believe that it takes more than voting for these issues, we gave extra credit to legislators who went beyond voting and championed our issues.
To view a PDF version of the full Report Card click here.
What were the issues that were used for the Report Card?
HEARTH (HR1877/S808): The HEARTH Act is the first significant reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs in nearly 20 years and allocates millions more to homelessness prevention, rapidly re-housing homeless families, and providing permanent supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities. It also modernizes and streamlines housing and services to more efficiently meet the needs of people seeking assistance.
Section 811 (HR1675/S1481): The Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2009,” would authorize a new Section 811 demonstration program on community integration for people with disabilities and would improve the existing Section 811 production program with changes that provide states and localities with a new infusion of critically needed Section 811 capital and project-based rent subsidy funding to produce more permanent supportive housing.
HUD’s 2010 Budget: The final HUD FY10 budget authority is $46.1 billion, a $4.5 billion increase over FY09 funding. The majority of programs were funded above the President’s budget request. This funding will support 10,000 new VASH vouchers for homeless veterans, and additionally, homeless assistance grants receive an increase of $188 million over the FY09 level. The $1.865 million funding level is above the House level of $1.85 billion and below the Senate level of $1.875 billion.
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. A Y indicates the Member cosponsored the Homes for Heroes Act in the Senate and voted in favor of the bill in the House.
Attendance at the 2009 Congressional Reception was used as the final scoring category. If the member of Congress attended they received full credit. If they sent an aide they were given half credit. If they did not attend or send an aide they received zero for this category. A Y indicates the Member and Half that an aide attended.
Extra Credit: Congressmen and Senators often engage in activities that are helpful to a cause without it fitting neatly into a category that advocacy organizations can score. The Advocacy Network emailed all housing staffers in the delegation asking them to feel free to contribute ideas of activities the Member engaged in that were helpful in meeting the housing needs of homeless persons and families, and this section reflects some of the answers of those who chose to respond.
Although we did not include them in the scoring of this year’s Report Card we continue to monitor the progress of the following pending legislation that the Advocacy Network supports:
SEVRA (HR3045): The Section Eight Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) is a proposal to reform and vastly improve our Section 8 program.
SELHA (HR3636/S1523): The Services to End Long Term Homelessness which is crucial to ending homelessness.
National Housing Trust Fund (HR2856/S731): This legislation would provide a permanent funding mechanism within the Department of HUD to produce, preserve, and rehabilitate rental housing for the lowest-income Americans.
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