Making Homelessness A National Priority

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, America is the richest country in the world. Yet, we have 700,000 homeless people including tens of thousands of veterans. Getting Americans housing and mental health services needs to be a national priority.

It is alarming to hear that instead of solving the problem there are some rightwing media commentators who want to execute mentally ill homeless people. I think the words they said were to just kill them. This was followed by a lackluster apology. It makes me think that maybe they meant it.

I don't think this is the position of the rightwing or the Republican Party. What this administration is doing is banning encampments with no long-term strategy and cutting funding for community services to those individuals.

Out of sight and out of mind is not a solution to homelessness. We cannot sweep homelessness and the homelessness crisis under the rug. We have been talking about violent rhetoric recently. Let's apply that to homeless people, as well.

Since these comments, there were two mass shootings at Minnesota homeless encampments. Our words do matter. We need to come together to solve the homelessness crisis in our country and not incite violence against them.

Mr. Speaker, let's work together in a bipartisan way instead of continuing that kind of rhetoric.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source