NPACH: The National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness

New Senate HUD McKinney-Vento Legislation Falls Short; Senate Encouraged to Adopt HEARTH Act Approach

On May 24, Senator Jack Reed and Senator Wayne Allard introduced the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act of 2007, (S.1518), legislation to reauthorize HUD McKinney-Vento programs.

Unfortunately, the Reed-Allard bill fails to incorporate several of the key positive features of the HEARTH Act (H.R. 840), bi-partisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House on February 6 and endorsed by virtually all national homeless organizations, numerous state and local homeless coalitions, and prominent national housing and faith-based groups. HEARTH currently enjoys the bi-partisan support of 62 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Unlike the HEARTH Act, the Senate bill fails to amend the HUD definition of homelessness to bring it in closer alignment with other Federal definitions, which include living arrangements characteristic among homeless families, homeless youth, homeless young adults and other ”non-chronic” populations. Similarly, the Senate bill would make permanent HUD’s recent supportive housing requirements and targeting within the Continuum of Care process.

The HEARTH Act, by comparison, allows communities the flexibility to implement a range of housing solutions and supportive services.

The Senate bill does include some positive movement on issues that NPACH and other groups have long advocated for, including the allowance of in-kind match and the renewal of permanent housing contracts using mainstream HUD funds. While these elements provide common ground as the reauthorization process moves forward, we cannot support the Senate bill as it currently reads.

ACTION NEEDED:
Call, write and fax your U.S. Senator and encourage them to amend the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act of 2007 by

o Aligning the HUD definition of who is homeless more closely with the definition used by other federal agencies by including people who are living in doubled-up situations or in hotels/motels due to lack of adequate alternatives;

o Eliminating permanent housing set asides.

Contact information for Senators may be found at www.senate.gov

Call, write and fax your U.S. Representative and urge him or her to sign on to the HEARTH Act, H.R. 840, as a co-sponsor. Please share this alert and ask community partners to support HEARTH, too. Contact information for Members of Congress may be found at www.house.gov

Add your organization (local, state, or national) to the list of HEARTH organizational endorsers by emailing Brad Paul at bpaul@npach.org. NPACH will maintain a current list of Congressional sponsors and organizational endorsers on its web site at www.npach.org

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