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June 15, 2001
Subcommittee Holds HUD Budget Hearing; Senators Criticize Public Housing Cuts
The Senate VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), held a hearing on the HUD budget yesterday with Secretary Mel Martinez testifying for the Department. While the hearing was not as contentious as previous ones on Capitol Hill, key Senators let HUD know they were not supportive of the proposed public housing budget cuts.
Senator Mikulski said she was "disappointed" with both the $700 million capital fund cut and the proposed termination of the public housing drug elimination program (PHDEP). The Ranking Republican on the panel, Senator Christopher Bond (MO), was even more strong in comments, absolving the Secretary of blame for the budget cuts, casting criticism instead on some staff at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who, he said, have "overstayed their welcome." Bond said Congress had made "considerable progress" in recent years by providing additional money for public housing capital spending and PHDEP, but HUD's FY '02 plan reverses that progress. "I am very concerned about the failure of this OMB budget proposal," said Bond.
Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) also criticized the capital fund and PHDEP cuts. Contrary to HUD's assertions, Kohl said most HAs are spending their capital funds in a timely fashion. The Senator added that PHDEP has "successfully reduced crime" and the "results speak for themselves."
For his part, Secretary Martinez again defended the cuts, asserting there was more than $8 billion of unobligated funds in the capital pipeline, adding that too many PHDEP initiatives have gone "far afield" from the program's intent. Martinez also said that public housing law enforcement was not a federal responsibility.
PHADA will report more on the budget in the upcoming issue of the Advocate.
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