Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chairman, let me first thank our Appropriations Committee chair, Mr. Price, as well as the members of the Rules Committee for making this amendment in order.

This is a budget-neutral amendment that would increase the funds dedicated to Federal homeless assistance grants by $1 million. These grants fund programs that have been shown to play key roles in addressing homelessness. In my hometown, for example, these funds support providers like Catholic Housing Services, which supports people who are formerly homeless, and like Plymouth Housing, which offers housing using the highly effective evidence-based permanent supportive housing model.

In my district, Mr. Chairman, we have 11,000 homeless folks, people who are experiencing homelessness, and they need help. We need more of these programs across the country.

Across the country, neighbors are experiencing homelessness and housing instability, and that instability can take many forms. It can be the veteran sleeping under an overpass, the child whose family is staying with friends and relatives, the low-wage worker who just can't even earn enough to leave the shelter, or the former foster youth who bounces in and out of cheap motels.

Some of these forms of homelessness are highly visible, others, like the housing instability experienced by families and by people living in rural areas, are often much harder to see, but every form of homelessness is deeply harmful.

That housing instability harms children's health. Kids and families facing housing instability had an almost 20 percent increased risk of hospitalization. Being homeless exacerbates physical and mental health issues and causes illness where, before, people had been healthy. And women who are unstably housed face high rates of rape and sexual and physical violence.

This suffering is cruel and unnecessary, and it is preventable. We all lose a piece of our humanity when we leave our unhoused neighborhoods behind. I hope we can do better with this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), our distinguished subcommittee chairman.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and wish to express support for her amendment. I commend her for offering it.

Our underlying bill provides $2.8 billion for HUD's Homeless Assistance Grants program. That is the highest funding level in that program's history. It includes more resources for Emergency Solutions Grants to rapidly rehouse and prevent homelessness, and the bill includes targeted investments for survivors of domestic violence and for youth experiencing homelessness.

In addition, section 231 of the bill creates a mechanism that allows HUD to more readily use recaptured funds from the small number of projects that might not utilize their resources. We expect this provision will give us an additional $90 million to use as grantees fight on the front lines to end homelessness.

So we have added resources. More can and must be done, and our colleague's amendment reflects that reality. We are going to pair this with sustained investments in affordable housing, and we are determined to reduce housing insecurity across the Nation.

So I am proud of what our bill accomplishes in this area. I commend the gentlewoman for her amendment additionally emphasizing our homeless challenge, and I urge adoption of our colleague's amendment.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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