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Budget Cuts Series: Trump Proposes Dramatic Cuts to Public Housing AGAIN
For over two years, Smart Dissent's Budget Cuts Series has exposed Trump's proposed budget cuts, finding savage proposals hidden beneath the surface. The Trump White House proposed their third budget in mid-March 2019 but it's been insanely hectic since then so our Series has a lot to catch up on during April and May 2019.
In today's Budget Cut Series we're sharing that Trump's 2020 budget it taking aim at housing subsidies for the FOURTH time.
....like its previous budget requests for 2017, 2018, and 2019, the administration is proposing steep cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).... the 2020 budget requests $44.1 billion in discretionary funding, a 16.4 percent decrease from 2019 funding levels.
Public housing is once again slated for huge cuts in the budget request, which entirely eliminates the Public Housing Capital Fund, used to maintain and improve public housing buildings. It also makes a 38 percent cut to the Public Housing Operating Fund, which is used to fund the basic operations of public housing.
The budget also completely eliminates many popular federal block grant programs that virtually every local municipality depends on for community development funds, including the Community Development Block Grant program, HOME Investment Partnerships, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity program.
“With this budget request, Trump and HUD Secretary Ben Carson are making clear in no uncertain terms their willingness to increase evictions and homelessness—for the vulnerable seniors, people with disabilities and families with kids who will be unable to manage having to spend more of their very limited incomes to cover rent hikes,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in a statement. “This is a cruel and unconscionable budget proposal, and it should be soundly rejected by Congress.”
The budget proposes funding cuts to Homeless Assistance Grants, the Housing Choice voucher account, Public Housing Operating Fund, Family Self-Sufficiency Program, Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities, and Housing Counseling Assistance.
The Administration’s budget would terminate contributions to the National Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund.
The budget also proposes several cuts to USDA Rural Housing programs, including proposals to:
- Eliminate the Section 502 Single-Family Housing Direct Loan program,
- Eliminate the Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization program, and
- Rescind $40 million of carryover balances from the Rental Assistance program.
The Republican Party and Trump seek to cut everything possible in favor of tax cuts for people richer than everyone you or me will ever meet.
Sources:
https://www.curbed.com/2019/3/11/18260492/trump-2020-budget-proposal-cuts-hud-dot