On Tuesday, October 16, the House Financial Services Committee held a second hearing on reauthorization of HUD's McKinney-Vento homeless assistance grant programs. Again, multiple witnesses testified in support of H.R. 840 - the HEARTH Act - NPACH's preferred approach to HUD McKinney-Vento reauthorization.

The Committee also heard testimony from Mark Johnston, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Philip Mangano, Executive Director, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. These key federal witnesses provided testimony in support of current federal efforts to end "chronic" or "long-term" homelessness for people with disabilities who have lived for far too long on this country's streets, and opposing efforts to accurately assess the full scope of homelessness in the United States by recognizing as homeless individuals and families who are living in doubled up situations that are not fixed, regular, or adequate.

Unfortunately, as NPACH's October 4 House testimony predicted, the written and oral testimony of Mr. Johnston and the oral testimony of Mr. Mangano (whose written testimony was either not submitted or not posted on the Committee website) do not contain a single reference to data suggesting that, under the current Administration, overall homelessness or "chronic" homelessness have decreased by even one person.

Mr. Mangano urged the Committee to make policy based on data, and to hold stakeholders accountable to outcomes. We agree. We call on Members of Congress to apply those principles to the work of HUD and the U.S. Interagency Council over the past 6 years. If they do, they cannot help but reach the conclusion that federal homelessness policy must change - and that the HEARTH Act is the best vehicle to produce that change.

Read the hearing testimony and watch the archived webcast