September 21, 2017

Duckworth Hosts Local Homelessness and Housing Organizations Roundtable

 


[CHICAGO, IL] -U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) hosted a roundtable where she heard from homelessness advocates and local housing leaders, yesterday. Duckworth discussed the President's proposed cuts to eliminate U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) funding and slash the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget. A photo of the discussion is available here.

"USICH and HUD do important work to fight homelessness, but the ACA is also a critical component in that fight," said Duckworth. "At the same time the President is working to eliminate USICH and cut HUD, Senate Republicans have abandoned bipartisan talks to improve ACA and are now actively undermining its protections and benefits. I will continue to push back against these shortsighted and ultimately harmful proposals so that our nation can better combat homelessness."

USICH coordinates wrap-around services to homeless and at-risk populations throughout the country and across 19 federal agencies. Not only would the President's proposal to eliminate USICH hamstring these efforts, but Senate Republicans' continued efforts to repeal ACA would prevent treatment to those suffering from mental illness and substance abuse, both of which affect the homeless population. In an effort to save funding dedicated to ending homelessness, Duckworth recently submitted a funding request to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for $3.6 billion to fund USICH in the 2018 fiscal year.

Prior to joining Congress, Duckworth served as Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), where she coordinated the VA's joint initiative with the HUD to end homelessness among Veterans. In 2016, HUD released data showing the rate of homelessness among Veterans has fallen nearly 50 percent since 2010.