Saturday, May 16, 2009
A $2.2 billion initiative to help the homeless breezed through the Senate with widespread bipartisan support. Co-sponsored by Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Missouri) and Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), the bill shifts the focus to providing permanent housing for the homeless rather than concentrating federal funding on temporary shelters that are now overflowing with Americans who have nowhere else to go.
In addition to permanent housing, the legislation will provide $440 million towards measures to prevent people from becoming homeless. Families on the brink of becoming homeless will now qualify for assistance.
Versions of the bill, titled Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (Hearth Act) have been in the works in Congress for the past decade, but the recent economic downtown and current housing dilemma has given the subject a sense of urgency. It is estimated that an additional one million people will become homeless over the next two years. Last Wednesday, the Senate finally passed the act as an amendment to mortgage legislation. Since the legislation is a bipartisan effort, it is likely to be approved by the House as well.
-Eve Myers, David Wallechinsky
Senate Passes Bond Plan to Assist Homeless in U.S. (by Don Norfleet, Fulton Sun)
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