Transportation, HUD

Cutting or eliminating HUD, which currently supports 3 million housing units across America, would do immeasurable harm to the families and seniors who rely on the department for access to safe, affordable housing and it would cripple the private companies that operate this housing.

Overall, your budget request provides the structural outlines for a robust six year, $476 billion surface transportation proposal. It reflects a growing consensus among nonpartisan academics that an increased public investment in our transportation system is needed to maintain an efficient foundation for our economy.

Just one week after the U.S. economy reported adding no new jobs in the month of August and barely 100,000 jobs since the Ryan budget was passed, this bill willfully cuts hundreds of thousands of highway, transit and housing construction jobs. Official unemployment hovers around 9 percent and in the construction industry it is much worse at around 13.5 percent. Now is not the time to be laying off even more construction workers.

Todays hearing topic, HUDs Transformation Initiative, is a product of the current Administrations commitment, and in particular Secretary Donovans commitment, to revitalizing the Department, addressing its structural inefficiencies and modernizing its information technology systems.

I am very pleased that your budget embraces the VASH homeless veterans program by providing $75 million for an additional 10,000 vouchers. This funding is needed as veterans are over 50% more likely than the average American to become homeless and already over 11,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have found themselves on the streets.

-Obey Statement"Consumers have spoken with their wallets and they're saying they like this program."-Bill Text: HR 3435