Google+ LinkedIn YouTube

Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Barbara Lee Oppose Cuts in Federal Funding to California Housing Program

CongressmanAdamSchiffSM

Congressman Adam Schiff recently wrote to the federal government opposing cuts to California housing programs.

Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Barbara Lee and 18 other members of the California Delegation recently wrote to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro expressing concerns with potential cuts in public housing to communities throughout California.

A recent study that would recalculate how administrative fees are distributed to housing authorities across the nation could mean a large number of such authorities in California – including Glendale, Burbank, and Pasadena – would see significant cuts.

“Now is not the time to further cut federal funding to public housing authorities in Los Angeles or elsewhere,” said Rep. Adam Schiff. “These housing authorities are vital to helping the underserved populace in our region as well as the broader state and it is my hope HUD will work with Congress to ensure any new formula more accurately reflects the costs associated with managing a housing authority.”

Rep. Barbara Lee said, “As we work to ensure access to housing for all Americans, we must continuously evaluate our nation’s critical affordable housing programs . . . These services are especially essential in one of the nation’s highest cost-of-living areas.”

Below is the full text of the letter by Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Barbara Lee and 18 other members of the California Delegation:

Dear Secretary Castro:

We write to express our strong concerns regarding the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed new Housing Choice Voucher (HVC) Administrative Fee formula. Under this new formula, many of the public housing authorities (PHAs) based in our congressional districts would see drastic cuts that would hinder their ability to serve our constituents.

We believe that the statistical explanation provided in HUD’s study, which describes only 63 percent of the costs associated with the operation of the PHAs studied, insufficiently reflects the full range of costs faced by PHAs. Specifically, the formula leaves out critical activities that are performed by PHAs including serving senior households, homeless households, providing portable vouchers, and administering special voucher programs such as HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH). In addition, we are concerned that the formula undervalues the PHAs’ fee eligibility due to cost saving measures that many of the PHAs undertook during the period of study, and does not adequately take into account turnover or new admission voucher success rates.

The proposed fee formula will disproportionately hurt urban areas with higher costs-of-living. In California alone, 39 PHAs would receive reduced funding; this represents 28 percent of all declining PHAs in the United States (excluding the territories).

We ask that HUD further study its proposed formula, taking into account the comments the agency will receive from the PHAs across the country. Specifically, HUD should develop a formula that more accurately considers all administrative costs associated with PHAs and does not discount the effects of high cost-of-living and rental markets on PHA expenses. Additionally, we are concerned that the current January 1, 2017 deadline to implement the new administrative fee is not practically achievable and ask that the agency take adequate time to ensure that its administrative fee formula accurately reflects the costs associated with managing a PHA.

PHAs provide a valuable asset to the thousands of communities across America. We ask that you work to ensure these organizations are adequately equipped to address the needs of our constituents. Thank you and we look forward to working with you on this important issue.


by Heejung Lim