Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, since 1992, the Housing Opportunity for Persons With Aids, or HOPWA, has provided a vital safety net for people living with HIV/AIDS. In the United States, 50,000 people become infected with HIV every year, and 1.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. More than 500,000 of those individuals will need some form of housing assistance during the course of their illness, but 145,000 of these individuals will have unmet housing needs.

Housing interventions are critical in our continued fight against HIV/AIDS, and research clearly shows that stable housing leads to better health outcomes. Inadequately or unstably housed individuals are less likely to access routine medical care and more likely to rely on costly emergency and acute care that leads to far higher health care costs. Providing stable housing to people with HIV/AIDS has an immediate impact on the health outcomes, reducing the risk of transmission to a partner by 96 percent, reducing emergency room visits by 36 percent, and reducing hospitalizations by 57 percent. In other words, investing a modest amount in HOPWA today saves us millions, if not billions, of Federal taxpayer dollars in the future, not to mention many lives.

HOPWA is the only Federal program to provide cities and States with dedicated resources to address the housing crisis facing people living with HIV/AIDS. And yet, despite the bipartisan agreement on HOPWA's effectiveness and the clear need for additional funding, this legislation provides only $305.9 million for HOPWA in FY15, a cut of more than $24 million from last year, and pushes HOPWA funding below its fiscal year 2008 funding levels, despite an estimated 300,000 people being newly infected with HIV since that time. At this abysmally low funding level, thousands of families and individuals will lose access to HOPWA and face dire health consequences.

My amendment would stop this devastating cut by increasing HOPWA funding by $29.1 million and restoring the program to $335 billion, the level it received 5 years ago in fiscal year 2010. I recognize $29 million may sound small by Federal budgeting standards, but this additional funding will ensure that those families and individuals who rely on HOPWA for secure, stable housing will not suddenly find themselves back on the street with no access to lifesaving medical treatment.

To protect those living with HIV/AIDS and to stay within the House rules, my amendment offsets this additional funding through cuts to HUD's Information Technology fund. I recognize--I recognize--the importance of providing HUD with phones and computers, but nothing is more important, quite simply, than saving lives. We must pass this amendment and give those families battling HIV/AIDS a fighting chance.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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