President's Budget Slashes Homeless Funding

2009 Proposed Budget Includes Cuts to Range of Programs

President Bush this week released his Budget Request for the Fiscal Year 2009.  The budget proposes significant cuts for many of the larger social safety net programs.  Homeless programs fared slightly better, but proposed increases to homeless programs would be offset by larger cuts to other homeless or social safety net programs.

As in past years, the Administration proposed an increase for the McKinney-Vento programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Under the President's proposed budget, HUD McKinney-Vento programs would get approximately $49 million in increased funding, approximately a 3% increase.  At the same time, however, the President proposed cutting the McKinney-Vento Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) program by approximately $53 million, a cut of 35% over prior year's levels.  The EFS program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provides funding for eviction prevention, emergency shelter and services, and food assistance.

In addition to the EFS program, the President also proposed cutting funding for a number of programs that provide housing or services that help to prevent homelessness.  The Section 202 program for elderly persons would lose approximately $196 million and housing for persons with disabilities would be cut by $78 million under the proposed FY09 budget.   Community Development Block Grants would be cut by $659 million.    The President also proposed to fund Housing Choice Vouchers at a level that would result in 100,000 fewer vouchers.

Other social safety net programs would also suffer.  The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program would be cut by $570 million, a 22% cut from FY08 levels.   Households that have their utilities cut off are more likely than other households to end up homelessness.   The Runaway and Homeless Youth Program were flat-funded, without any increase to account for inflation.

Domestic violence programs would be particularly hard hit.  The President proposed to reduce funding for programs under the Violence Against Women Act by $120 million.  The President also would eliminate funding for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Fund - a $2 billion cut.  VOCA provides counseling, court advocacy, child trauma evaluation, and other services for victims of domestic violence.

In one of the few bright spots for homeless programs, the President proposed a $7 million increase for the McKinney-Vento PATH program that provides outreach and case management for homeless persons with mental illness.  The PATH program, which was funded at $53 million in FY08, has not received a funding increase in several years and was even cut slightly in FY08.  NLCHP has been leading efforts to secure more funding for the program and will press Congress for $75 million for the PATH program.

Another area of small success was for housing for homeless veterans.  The President proposed $75 million for the HUD-Veterans Administration Supportive Housing program, which would provide housing vouchers for approximately 8000-10,000 homeless veterans.   That funding level would match the amount advocates obtained last year in the FY08 final appropriations bill.