[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE STATE OF HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Maxine Waters) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, today I rise once again 
to discuss the harsh realities of homelessness in America and to call 
attention to the Republicans' so-called poverty agenda that simply 
ignores the fact that men, women, and children are sleeping on the 
streets of America, eating out of garbage cans, and using our sidewalks 
and streets for restrooms.
  Homelessness is one of the most tragic and disappointing reminders of 
the overwhelming poverty in this country. According to the latest 
estimates, almost 600,000 Americans are homeless. It is a problem in 
virtually every district, and it affects people from very different 
walks of life: 37 percent of the homeless population are represented in 
families, 15 percent are chronically homeless, 8 percent are veterans, 
and 6.5 percent are children.
  While there is a claim that some progress has been made to decrease 
homelessness in some communities, a lot more needs to be done, 
especially in some of our largest cities where homelessness is, sadly, 
increasing exponentially: in my hometown of Los Angeles, homelessness 
increased 20 percent between 2014 and 2015; in New York City, 
homelessness increased 11 percent between 2014 and 2015; and in 
Chicago, there was an 8 percent increase in that timeframe.
  As public policymakers and Members of Congress, we have a 
responsibility to deal with problems and circumstances that undermine 
and harm our way of life. We are a people who cherish religion. In 
every religion, there is a reference to feeding the hungry, housing the 
homeless, and clothing the naked.
  Where are the Republican Members who regularly hold prayer meetings, 
who attend church on Sunday in their districts, but yet they are 
supporting this fake poverty agenda that does not even mention 
homelessness? Where are the Members who claim to honor our veterans, 
yet walk past them on the sidewalk in their tents and sleeping under 
our bridges?
  We know that we can functionally end homelessness and alleviate 
poverty in this country. We know that Federal resources and the social 
safety nets are incredibly effective at lifting up struggling families. 
We know that if we properly support the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development and other Federal agencies that we could create the 
necessary housing units and provide the social services that our 
neighbors need to get off the streets.
  What we need is, simply, the political will to get it done. 
Unfortunately, we do not have the support from Republicans whose sham 
of a poverty agenda released this week would only exacerbate 
homelessness and punish the poor.
  Take the Republican approach to housing assistance, for example. For 
years, they have cut funding for HUD programs, leaving more than 75 
percent of eligible families without any housing help at all. And their 
latest poverty plan recycles some of the most harmful changes 
Republicans have sought for our housing programs. They refuse to 
acknowledge the realities of unaffordable rents that require families 
to earn almost triple the minimum wage to be able to afford a modest 
two-bedroom apartment.
  And they want to impose these so-called work requirements that simply 
don't work if you ignore the already high unemployment rates in certain 
areas as well as the need to invest in job training, education, child 
care, and other social services to make it possible for individuals to 
obtain stable employment. What the Republicans have put forth is truly 
the wrong way forward.
  Fortunately, Democrats know what it takes; and when we talk about 
issues of homelessness in particular, there is a very simple solution 
to this very real problem. That is why I have introduced H.R. 4888, the 
Ending Homelessness Act of 2016.
  Now, a lot of people will say: Oh, my goodness, did you see how much 
money is in that bill? This bill would devote over $13 billion over 5 
years to housing assistance programs and create the housing units and 
services that we so desperately need to get people off the streets.

                              {time}  1045

  So while others will point to this bill and talk about the cost of 
it, the fact of the matter is, this is the richest country in the 
world, and we spend money on so many other things that are not as 
important as taking care of our most vulnerable population.
  So, yes, this is a $13 billion bill. We have to stop playing with 
this issue and thinking it is going to go away simply because we don't 
want to acknowledge it. We have to pay for the possibility of ending 
this homelessness. I cannot bear the thought of children sleeping in 
their cars every night and getting up and going to school the next day.

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