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Over 4,700 organizations unite to save affordable housing & community development programs

by Lynda Carson (tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com)
According to HUD’s records on 10/08/2019, in San Francisco there are 13,798 units in its Section 8 inventory, Oakland has 13,614 Section 8 units, Berkeley has 1,995 Section 8 units, Alameda has 1,885 Section 8 units, Alameda County has 6,684 Section 8 units, Contra Costa County has 9,235 Section 8 units, and Marin Housing has 2,205 Section 8 units listed.
Over 4,700 organizations unite to save affordable housing & community development programs

By Lynda Carson — February 25, 2020

Oakland - Recently the Trump regime proposed to slash the funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by 15%, or $8.6 billion, below current enacted levels, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

According to HUD’s records on 10/08/2019, in San Francisco there are 13,798 units in its Section 8 inventory, Oakland has 13,614 Section 8 units, Berkeley has 1,995 Section 8 units, Alameda has 1,885 Section 8 units, Alameda County has 6,684 Section 8 units, Contra Costa County has 9,235 Section 8 units, and Marin Housing has 2,205 Section 8 units listed.

According to NLIHC, “President Trump would cut funding for tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) by $5 billion, not including funds needed to cover inflationary adjustments. The request provides $18.833 billion for TBRA, which is insufficient funding to ensure all contracts are fully renewed. As a result, NLIHC and others expect such a cut could result in nearly 160,000 families being at risk of losing their voucher assistance.”

If Trump’s proposed funding cuts were to occur, low-income Section 8 tenants (a.k.a. Housing Choice Voucher tenants) in Oakland and the Bay Area that are receiving tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) from HUD’s subsidized housing programs would be devastated. Some voucher holders would be placed at risk of losing their housing assistance vouchers and becoming homeless as a result during a period Oakland and the Bay Area has a homelessness crisis occurring.

The budgets for public housing in Oakland and the Bay Area would also be slashed under Trump’s latest proposed budget.

According to the NLIHC, “Public housing takes a huge hit under the Trump budget proposal. The public housing capital fund, which received $2.869 billion in FY20 and is required for desperately needed capital repairs, would be eliminated in FY21. The allocation for the operating fund would fall significantly, from $4.55 billion in FY20 to $3.57 billion, or 21%. The administration states that public housing agencies (PHAs) may use operating fund dollars for modernization and other capital needs.

Instead, the administration requests $100 million for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) to convert more public housing to a Section 8 funding stream, despite the fact that the ability to successfully convert public housing requires full funding for public housing operating and capital funds which the administration proposes to underfund. The budget eliminates the cap on no-cost public housing conversions and expands authority for RAD conversions to Section 811 Project Rental Assistance, Senior Preservation Rental Assistance, and Tenant Protection Vouchers (in limited circumstances).”

Over 4,700 organizations have united to save affordable housing & Community Development Programs, and have signed a letter in opposition to the Trump regime’s proposed budget cuts for FY 2021.

The Trump regime’s proposed budgets have repeatedly attacked HUD’s subsidized housing programs at the same time that Trump complains about the unhoused, and the homelessness situation across the nation.

It was during February 2018 that the “National Alliance of HUD Tenants oppose Trump’s proposed budget cuts,” and during March of 2019, that “HUD Tenant Leaders Demand Congress Declare Trump’s 2020 Budget “Dead on Arrival.”

For the organizations interested in signing the letter, and joining the more than 4,700 organizations that have united to save HUD’s affordable housing programs & community development programs, click here.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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