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Fwd: #KeepFamiliesTogether - 7,700+ Comments | Day of Action Webinar | Senate Bill to Block HUD Rule

Submitted by Health-Law-Anno... on 07/01/2019 - 10:01am.
Hi All --Happy week of July 4!
 
I am forwarding info from the Natl Housing Law Project about proposed HUD rule that would change long standing HUD rules pro-rating rent subsidies for mixed status (Citizen/Eligible immigrant + ineligible immigrant) families. The proposed rule will lead to mixed status families losing access to federal subsidized & public housing even at the higher rents they are charged now. It will also require documentation by all residents/applicants of either eligible immigration status or US citizenship --these added documentation requirements will be a barrier for a significant portion of low income people including US citizens. We saw this in Medicaid after 2005 when paper documentation for US citizens was required & before the SSA data match was in place --it was US citizens who lost benefits not the phantom undocumented immigrants claiming citizenship.  The CBPP blog post linked below has more information on the US citizenship verification proposal. HUD itself acknowledges this change will be costly --both in terms of administrative costs & in terms of the foregone higher rent payments made by mixed status families. And of course we all know how the housing instability --which this proposal promotes--l adversely affects health.  
 
Comments are due by July 9, 2019. See below for links to Template comment letter & instructions for how to file comments. 
 
--------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Karlo Ng <kng@nhlp.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 25, 2019 at 2:23 PM
Subject: #KeepFamiliesTogether 
 
 
 
7,700+ Comments | Day of Action Webinar |
Senate Bill to Block HUD Rule
7,700+ Comments and
14 Days Left to Comment!
 
Thanks to your efforts, over 7,700 comments have been submitted to regulations.govabout HUD's mixed-status families rule. Let's keep the momentum going and make sure that we raise our voices for every one of the 25,000 mixed-status families that would face homelessness because of this rule.
 
We have 14 days left to comment! Use our resources and send individual and unique comments in English or Spanish to HUD by July 9. Please avoid sign-on letters.
 
 
Senator Gillibrand Introduces Companion Bill to Block HUD Mixed-Status Families Rule
 
On June 19, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation(S.1904) to prohibit HUD from implementing, administering, or enforcing the agency's mixed-status families rule. This bill is a companion to Rep. Sylvia Garcia’s (D-TX) House bill (H.R. 2763) that was introduced two weeks ago. Senator Gillibrand and Rep. Garcia, along with dozens of other Members of Congress, also sent letters to HUD Secretary Carson opposing the proposed rule.
Localities Concerned about HUD Rule's Effect on Homelessness
 
Localities across the country are concerned about the HUD rule's potential impact on homelessness. In Los Angeles, the proposed rule could evict more than 30 percent of public housing residents--potentially plunging 11,000 more people into homelessness--which is particularly troubling given recent reports that show a 16 percent increase in homeless individuals in LA from 2018 to 2019. Similarly, officials in Phoenix are worried that the proposed rule would result in homelessness for 380 mixed-status families. And, in Oregon, U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have spoken out against the rule, noting that the policy would force many of their constituents into homelessness.
CBPP Blog Post on U.S. Citizen Impact
 
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has a new blog post highlighting the impact of the HUD mixed-status families rule's new documentation requirement for U.S. citizens. The proposed rule would require citizens applying for assistance as well as the more than 9 million citizens who are currently assisted to provide proof of citizenship. CBPP explains that many barriers exist for citizens to obtain proof and not providing this documentation in time can lead to hundreds of thousands to lose their housing assistance. The requirement would also create burdens and costs for thousands of housing agencies and subsidized housing providers.
 
 
 
Established in 1968, the National Housing Law Project’s mission is to advance housing justice for poor people and communities by strengthening and enforcing the rights of tenants, increasing housing opportunities for underserved communities, and preserving and expanding the nation’s supply of safe and affordable homes.
 
1663 Mission Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94103 | 415.546.7000 | www.nhlp.org
 
 
 
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