Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - April 02, 2009)

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By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Bond, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Collins, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Whitehouse):

S. 808. A bill to amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to reauthorize the Act, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to introduce, along with Senators Bond, Akaka, Boxer, Collins, Durbin, Kerry, Klobuchar, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Lieberman, Schumer, and Whitehouse, the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act, HEARTH Act. Representative Gwen Moore is introducing a bipartisan companion bill today as well. This legislation would reauthorize and amend the housing titles of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. Specifically, our bill would consolidate and improve the homeless assistance programs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to better accomplish the goals of preventing and ending homelessness.

According to the Homelessness Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year. On any one night, approximately 672,000 men, women, and children are without homes. While strides have been made to reduce homelessness over the last couple of years, the current economic decline has halted such progress. We have already seen tent cities forming, shelters turning away people, and cities reporting increased numbers of homeless people. As unemployment continues to rise, more and more people cannot afford to pay their mortgages or rent, and nonprofits and local governments are unable to keep up.

As a result of the recession, 1.5 million additional Americans are likely to experience homelessness over the next two years according to estimates by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. This means more trauma for children and adults, more dislocation from schools and communities, and more of a drain on local community services.

Sadly, many of those who are homeless have served our country in uniform. Their numbers range between 150,000 and 200,000 on any given night. Three times that many veterans are housed, but are struggling with excessive rent burdens and an increased risk of homelessness. Different sources estimate that between 23 and 40 percent of homeless adults are veterans.

Statistics regarding the number of children who experience homelessness are especially troubling. Each year, it is estimated that at least 1.35 million children experience homelessness. According to HUD's 3rd Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, on any given night, 248,500 persons in families are homeless. Each year, over 800,000 homeless children and youth are identified and enrolled in public schools. However, this count does not include preschool children, and at least half of all homeless children are under the age of five. Whatever their age, we know that children who are homeless are in poorer health, have developmental delays, and suffer academically.

In addition, many of those who are homeless have a disability. According to the Homelessness Research Institute, about 23 percent of homeless people were found to be ``chronically homeless,'' which according to the current HUD definition means that they are homeless for long periods of time or homeless repeatedly, and they have a disability. For many of these individuals and families, housing alone, without some supportive services, may not be enough.

Finally, as rents have soared and affordable housing units have disappeared from the market during the past several years, even more working Americans have been left unable to afford housing. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's most recent ``Out of Reach'' report, nowhere in the country can a minimum wage earner afford to rent a one-bedroom home. Low income renters who live paycheck to paycheck are in precarious circumstances and sometimes must make tough choices between paying rent and buying food, prescription drugs, or other necessities. If one unforeseen event occurs in their lives, they can end up homeless.

There is also a great societal cost to homelessness, including expenses for emergency rooms, jails, shelters, foster care, detoxification, and emergency mental health treatment. Indeed, studies have shown it costs just as much, if not more in overall expenditures, to allow men, women, and children to remain homeless as it does to provide them with assistance and get them back on the road to self-sufficiency.

It has been 22 years since the enactment of the Steward B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, and we have learned a lot about the problem of homelessness since then. At the time of its adoption in 1987, this law was viewed as an emergency response to a national crisis, and was to be followed by measures to prevent homelessness and to create more systemic solutions to the problem. It is now time to take what we have learned during the past 22 years, and put those best practices and proposals into action.

First and foremost, the HEARTH Act focuses federal funding on prevention. It allows up to 20 percent of funds to be used to serve people who are at risk of homelessness under a new ``Emergency Solutions Grants'' program. At the same time, it expands the definition of homelessness, which determines eligibility for much of the homeless assistance funding, to include people who will lose their housing in 14 days; any family or individual fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, or other dangerous or life threatening situations; and families with children and unaccompanied youth who have experienced a long term period without living independently, have experienced persistent housing instability, and can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period due to a number of enumerated factors, such as a disability. It also allows grantees to use up to an additional 10 percent of competitive funds to serve families defined as homeless under the Education Department homeless definition, but not so defined under the HUD definition. For areas with low levels of homelessness, up to 100 percent of funds may be used for such purposes.

The HEARTH Act also provides communities with greater flexibility in using funds to prevent and end homelessness. Rural communities can participate in a new Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program that would grant rural communities greater discretion in addressing the needs of homeless people or those in the worst housing situations in their communities.

The HEARTH Act would also increase the focus on practices and programs that have demonstrated results. For example, the bill would require that HUD provide incentives for rapid rehousing programs for homeless families. Rapid rehousing programs have been successfully used in numerous communities to significantly reduce family homelessness. By dramatically reducing the length of time families are homeless, rapid rehousing programs ensure a quicker return to stability and self sufficiency.

The HEARTH Act would continue HUD's existing initiative to house people who experience chronic homelessness, but would add families with children to the initiative. It also would designate 30 percent of total funds for new permanent housing for families and individuals with a disability.

Finally, the HEARTH Act would increase the emphasis on performance by measuring applicants' progress at reducing homelessness. It would also allow communities with low levels of homelessness or that are reducing homelessness to focus more on prevention and serving people who are at risk of homelessness.

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 prevent and end long-term homelessness.

The bipartisan HEARTH Act will set us on the path to meeting this 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 bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

S. 808

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