Houston (Texas) Chronicle
Cuts to housing programs in Texas, other states meets pushback in Congress
HUD Secretary Scott Turner, of Texas, has pushed cuts that activists warn will decimate housing programs for the homeless, seniors and low-income families.
By James Osborne
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner came under fire from both sides of the aisle during congressional budget hearings this week, amid efforts by the Trump administration to slash federal programs in Texas and other states aimed at providing housing to disadvantaged groups including the homeless, seniors and low income families.
At a hearing Thursday, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., criticized proposed budget cuts to a number of housing programs "at a time there's a need to increase the supply of affordable housing."
And in a heated exchange, U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-NY, repeatedly questioned Turner's oversight of the agency's homeless programs.
"You're in change. You have a vision. Let's see it," she said. "Stop talking about Biden. Talk about your record."
The hearings come more than 15 months after Turner, a former Texas state representative and professional football player, was confirmed as President Donald Trump's pick to lead federal housing programs. He has overseen layoffs and mass departures that reportedly reduced the agency's staff by nearly a quarter as of October, part of what Turner described in this week's hearings as an effort to "reject the notion of simply throwing money at every problem."
"When we came in there was a lack of financial controls," he said at a House Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday.
But those efforts have drawn accusations that the administration is targeting minority groups through rules blocking billions of dollars in homeless funding from going to cities that "support sanctuary protections, harm reduction practices, or inclusive policies for transgender people," a lawsuit claimed last year.
In March, a federal judge ordered HUD to end the practice, calling it a "slapdash imposition of political whims." The Trump administration has since dropped its appeal.
Republican congressional leaders pushed through an appropriations bill last year ordering Turner to start distributing the homeless funding by March 31. But so far the money has yet to go out, and the Trump administration is now seeking to cut off future funding to so-called "housing first" programs that move people off the streets and into permanent homes without requiring them to get sober or find a job.
In Texas, for instance, the delay has left in limbo groups like the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, which has provided housing to more than 33,000 homeless people since 2012 and received $70 million in HUD funding last year.
The Houston coalition declined to comment, as did other Texas-based groups that manage federal housing programs, and referred questions to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
"You're talking about nonprofits on shoestring budgets, and they're two to three months into the fiscal year and they're housing people and paying rent. So they're having to piece together anything they can to continue to operate," said Marcy Thompson, vice president for programs and policy at the Washington-based alliance. "In some cases programs have had to shut down."
And the network of Texas nonprofits that helps enforce the federal government's fair housing laws, which were put in place decades ago to prevent landlords from discriminating based on race, religion and other markers, are also feeling the pinch.
Julian Glover, a spokesman for the National Fair Housing Alliance, said both the Greater Houston Fair Housing Center and the San Antonio Fair Housing Council had yet to receive their funding for this year.
Neither group responded to inquiries, but Glover said "the administration has been slow walking the release of (fair housing) funds, causing some to either lay off staff or shutter entirely."
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for HUD said "accusations of ‘slow rolling' are baseless."
"HUD is fulfilling all of its obligations to restore and provide funding in a timely manner, while assuring American taxpayers that it is protecting those funds from fraud, waste and abuse," the spokesperson said.
So far, Congress has pushed back on the budget cuts Turner is seeking. It awarded HUD $77.3 billion last year, more money than in the previous year, despite Trump's request for a more than 40% reduction in spending.
And Congress is poised to increase HUD's budget again this year, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told Turner at Tuesday's hearing.
He chided Turner for a proposed cut to a housing program for Native American reservations, a number of which are located in Oklahoma.
"HUD's reach in to the daily lives of Americans is profound," he said. "We expect accountability from our agencies."