But CoC Funding Still Falls Short
Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed the fiscal year (FY) 2013 HUD Appropriations Act and approved the amendment to increase funding for Continuum of Care (CoC) programs by $5 million in the FY 2013 HUD Appropriations Act.
This resulted in a total of just over $2 billion for HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants.
This is how the NJ Congressional delegation voted.
| Yea | NJ-1 | Andrews, Robert [D] |
| Yea | NJ-2 | LoBiondo, Frank [R] |
| Yea | NJ-3 | Runyan, Jon [R] |
| Yea | NJ-4 | Smith, Christopher [R] |
| Yea | NJ-5 | Garrett, Scott [R] |
| Nay | NJ-6 | Pallone, Frank [D] |
| Yea | NJ-7 | Lance, Leonard [R] |
| Nay | NJ-8 | Pascrell, William [D] |
| Yea | NJ-9 | Rothman, Steven [D] |
| Yea | NJ-11 | Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R] |
| Nay | NJ-12 | Holt, Rush [D] |
| Nay | NJ-13 | Sires, Albio [D] |
But, unfortunately, while the increase represents a step in the right direction, this funding level is still insufficient to maintain the existing level of assistance to people experiencing homelessness – the renewal of all CoC grants and maintenance of the existing level of Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) activity. As a result, even with this increase, about 25,000 people would be homeless instead of housed under this bill.
We hope that New Jersey’s congressional delegation will work throughout the rest of the process to ensure that the President’s requested funding level of $2.23 billion is included in the final legislation. You can help encourage them by:
- Calling their DC offices;
- Asking to speak to the housing staffer – click here for a contact list with names and phone numbers;
- Thanking them for approving the $5 million increase amendment to increase funding for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants BUT explain that the funding level is still insufficient to maintain the existing level of assistance to people experiencing homelessness. Ask that their boss work throughout the rest of the process to ensure the President’s requested funding level of $2.23 billion is included in the final legislation; and
- Emailing Kate Kelly about who you have contacted.
