House Republicans pass bill that spells chaos for low-income housing

People will wait longer for affordable housing "because Congress decided to let some people cut in front of them."

DANIELLE MCLEAN JUN 16, 2018, 9:00 AM

On Thursday, House Republicans passed a bill designed to help low-income people suffering from opioid addiction obtain affordable housing, but opponents of the measure contend that it only worsens the affordable housing crisis. Affordable housing advocates say that while the bill sets aside thousands of rental assistance vouchers for people with substance abuse disorders it will force many other economically vulnerable people — including seniors, veterans, families, homeless people, and victims of natural disasters and domestic violence — to wait longer for affordable housing.

There are currently long wait-lists for federal housing vouchers which provide rental assistance. Rather than create new vouchers, the bill would pull thousands from the existing stock and allocate them to substance abuse treatment centers so they can be distributed to people in those programs who are fighting addiction.

“We are concerned about taking away existing resources for specific populations and think that instead additional resources should be provided to support the needs of these individuals,” Jessica Cassella, a staff attorney with the National Housing Law Project told ThinkProgress.

Additionally, the bill would put more restrictions on those housing vouchers by allowing those treatment centers to limit the amount of time people can receive rental assistance vouchers to one or two years. It would also empower the Department of Housing and Urban Development to impose strict work requirements in order to receive them — a harsh practice the agency has already proposed.


https://thinkprogress.org/low-incoming-housing-bill-opioid-crisis-936760fb2ab6/


The republican bait and switch............................hurt one group(s), and then tell everyone see we are compassionate..............bull shit


November 2018 cannot get here fast enough.....................