Advocacy Update: Quarterly Report

This Quarterly Report includes a preview of key upcoming activities and issues for advocates, as well as a review of major developments from the last quarter. Specifically, this issue reviews:

• Summary and Report of Capitol Hill Day 2011;
• Appropriations Update and Recent Actions;
• Super-Committee and Congressional Debt Negotiations;
• Medicaid Partnership and Related Advocacy; and 
• Pregnant and Parenting Youth Provider Survey.  

The Alliance hosted its annual Capitol Hill Day this summer from July 13-15 in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the National Conference on Ending Homelessness.  

Capitol Hill Day provides conference attendees with an opportunity to meet with their congressional offices in order to educate them on the importance of key federal programs that prevent and end homelessness. Participants provided updates and discussed successes of local efforts around ending homelessness, while advocating for the federal programs that are key to that progress and success.    

We are pleased to report that this year's Capitol Hill Day was record breaking! Over 360 participants visited congressional offices representing 42 different states. Volunteers serving as State Captains organized an unprecedented more than 270 congressional meetings. In these meeting, participants discussed a variety of topics, including providing funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Homeless Services programs.    

While conference participants were visiting their Members of Congress, Senators Reed, Snowe, and Schumer were circulating a sign-on letter that discussed the need for robust funding for McKinney-Vento programs and HUD-VASH.  The letter received a record-breaking number of signatures, and many Senators signed on directly after meeting with their constituents.  

The full results of these visits will become more visible as federal appropriations work moves ahead and becomes finalized. We can be certain, however, that many relationships with congressional offices were begun or strengthened during these visits, which in turn will create better dialogue between congressional offices and their constituents and enhance future education efforts. The Alliance would like to thank all participants, and particularly the State Captains, for organizing and participating in what can undoubtedly be called our best Capitol Hill Day yet!  The full report, including number of meetings, topic discussed, key congressional offices, and more can be found here.     

Congressional Appropriations Update

HUD and HHS Appropriations
In the last quarter, Congress has made serious progress on their appropriations work for fiscal year (FY) 2012. Advocates have been actively working to capitalize on this congressional activity, advocating for increased funding for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants in order to implement the HEARTH Act and meet the rising demand on homelessness programs across the country.  The Alliance kicked off a campaign in April aimed at increasing funding for McKinney-Vento programs. As part of this campaign, the Alliance has recently teamed up with its national partner organizations to host a National Call-In Week to make one final impact on funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in FY 2012. 

The House HUD Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Committee both marked up their versions of the legislation last month.  The full House Appropriations Committee may or may not take up the legislation, but it is likely that the current versions will be used in final negotiations.  Congressional Appropriators are expected to begin working on compromise funding levels as early as this week.  

The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on HHS have also released their proposed funding legislation for programs with the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) Programs. The proposals from both Committees flat fund RHYA at $116 million for FY 2012. This legislation will also likely be used in the final funding negotiations.  

What You Can Do 

As the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate begin their final negotiations on spending levels, call your Member of Congress and ask them to reach out to their colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to urge them to increase funding for key homelessness programs, such as McKinney-Vento Programs and RHYA. For help reaching out to your Members, visit the advocacy tools section of our website, or contact Kate Seif for help with messaging.  

For a comprehensive update on appropriations and to view a list of programs related to low-income housing and homelessness and their funding levels, please click here.  

In early August, after weeks of negotiations, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011, legislation which provides authority for incrementally raising the federal debt ceiling and majorly decreasing the deficit.  This deal could potentially have a big impact on homelessness. The legislation created what is known as the Super-Committee, a group of bipartisan Senators and Representatives who are tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction savings through additional cuts, increased revenue, or a combination of both. The Alliance has developed a policy brief for advocates, providing recommendations to the Super-Committee and outlining the impact on homelessness should the Super-Committee fail to produce the necessary savings, resulting in a series of automatic cuts to key federal programs.    

Medicaid Super-Committee Advocacy 

The Alliance, along with other homelessness advocates, is supporting the National Medicaid Coalition, a strong voice protecting access to health care from harmful cuts by the Super-Committee. Last week, the Alliance reached out to key field activists in states with Senators or House leaders on the most important authorizing committees affecting health care: Finance and Health, Education, Labor & Pensions in the Senate, and Energy & Commerce in the House. These committees have until October 14 to make their own recommendations to the Super Committee on how to reduce the deficit. The Alliance's Super-Committee talking points explain why these committees should protect the expansion of Medicaid which is set for 2014. Medicaid expansion is a critical step in the effort to end chronic homelessness. For more information on how to advocate to protect Medicaid, contact Amanda Benton or Lisa Stand.