Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 29, 2005)

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, I introduce, along with Senators Allard, Collins, Sarbanes, Bond, Murray, Chafee, Mikulski, Dodd, Akaka, Schumer, Corzine, Landrieu, and Clinton, the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act of 2005 (CPEHA). This legislation would reauthorize and amend the housing titles of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. Specifically, our bill would realign the incentives behind the Department of Housing and Urban Development's homelessness assistance programs to accomplish the goals of preventing and ending long-term homelessness.

During the past several weeks, stark pictures of the reality faced by many in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have made more of the country aware of the day-to-day pressures faced by those who are homeless. Unfortunately, as many as 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year. Ten to 20 percent are homeless for long periods of time. Many of these Americans have severe disabilities. Many have worn a uniform for our country, with the Veterans Administration estimating that at least 500,000 veterans experience homelessness over the course of a year. Statistics regarding the number of children who experience homelessness are especially troubling. More than one million children experience homelessness each year; that is one in ten poor children in the United States. We have learned that children who are homeless are in poorer health, have developmental delays, and achieve less in school than children who have homes.

Many of those who are homeless have a simple problem--they cannot afford housing. Using the most recent census data, 56 percent of extremely low-income families are paying more than half their income for housing. Between 1990 and 2000, shortages of affordable housing for these families worsened in 44 of the 50 States. In 2000, it was estimated that 4.6 million units of low-income housing would need to be created in order to take care of this problem. As rents have soared and affordable housing units have disappeared from the market during the past five years, even more working Americans have been left unable to afford housing.

So why should the Federal Government work to help prevent and end homelessness? Simply put, we cannot afford not to solve this problem. Homelessness leads to untold costs, including expenses for emergency rooms, jails and shelters, foster care, detoxification, and emergency mental health treatment. It has been almost twenty years since the passage of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, and we have learned a lot about the problem of homelessness since then.

There is a growing consensus on ways to help communities break the cycle of repeated and prolonged homelessness. If we combine Federal dollars with the right incentives to local communities, we can end long-term homelessness. This bipartisan legislation will do just that. It will reward communities for initiatives that prevent homelessness, promote the development of permanent supportive housing, and optimize self-sufficiency.

The Community Partnership to Help End Homelessness Act of 2005 will set us on the path to meeting an important national goal. I hope my colleagues will join us in supporting this bill and other homelessness prevention efforts.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Community Partnership to Help End Homelessness Act of 2005 be printed in the RECORD.

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