House Approves $2.2 Billion for McKinney-Vento, $75 Million for VASH

written by Catherine An

July 30, 2010

House Approves $2.2 Billion for McKinney-Vento, $75 Million for VASH Last night, the House approved H.R. 5850, the fiscal year (FY) 2011 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) Appropriations Bill. The bill includes a number of provisions to help people experiencing homelessness. Although a proposed amendment to the bill would have eliminated funding for the HUD - Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, the amendment was eventually withdrawn. As a result of YOUR help in making phone calls to your representatives, the final bill includes $75 million for HUD-VASH. In addition to funding for HUD-VASH, the legislation includes:

• $2.2 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants (an 18 percent increase over FY 2010);
• $17.080 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance renewals (a $740.8 million increase over FY 2010), including:
• $85 million for 10,000 housing vouchers for the Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration;
• $350 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program (a $15 million increase over FY 2010);
• $4.829 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund (a $54 million increase over FY 2010); and
• $2.5 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund (no change from FY 2010).

The House approved $2.2 billion in funding for McKinney-Vento programs due to all of YOUR hard work. Although we need $2.4 billion to fully implement the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, we need to let our representatives know how appreciative we are to them for providing an 18 percent increase for McKinney-Vento programs. Check the House Appropriations Committee website for more information on H.R. 5850. Again – none of this could’ve happened without YOU. Our federal representatives need to hear what you think so they can do their job of representing our interests and priorities. So thanks for all your hard work! Up next? The Senate – stay tuned!