The homeless crisis should be an omnibus bill priority

Once again we find ourselves on the brink of a government shutdown. As today’s deadline neared, Congressional leaders scrambled to pass a stopgap measure to keep the lights on for another week as they negotiate a bipartisan omnibus bill that would fund the government and advance key initiatives for the next fiscal year. 

The main sticking point centers on how much the U.S. should allocate toward domestic spending. A $26 billion stalemate stands in the way of both parties reaching a consensus, according to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). As lawmakers horse trade and deal make over the next week to avoid a repeat of what occurred in 2019, over a half-million homeless Americans — including many veterans — hope they won’t be a casualty of the current game of chicken taking place on Capitol Hill.   

Statistics show a rise in homelessness across America, as COVID-19 and inflationary pressure have forced more and more people living paycheck to paycheck out of their homes and onto the street. Shelters in 15 states have seen a spike in the number of people walking through their doors, and waitlists have tripled at certain facilities in just a few months. 

As of last November, over 4 million American households teetered on foreclosure or eviction. And for more than 11 million families, rent represents over half of household income — with payments increasing at the fastest clip since 1986. The homeless problem is so prevalent in Los Angeles that the city’s newly-elected mayor, Karen Bass, said her first official task will be to declare it a state of emergency.  

Earlier this year, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations approved a draft fiscal year 2023 subcommittee bill that included record-level funding to address American homelessness. Specifically, it proposed $32.1 billion for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program to help those struggling with housing expenses, and another $3.6 billion to support Homeless Assistance Grants administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Overall, the bill sought a 17 percent increase over 2022 spending to address homelessness, affordable housing and community development initiatives.  

The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) supported these funding measures, citing soaring rent prices across the country since July 2021 that have “threaten[ed] the housing stability of millions of low-income households.” At the time, NAEH stated it was “pleased” to see the Biden administration, the U.S. House and U.S. Senate call for new funding to address this devastating public health problem. Now, five months later, with a government shutdown on the horizon, important programs such as these could find themselves on the chopping block.  

Cutting these initiatives would be disastrous for America’s homeless, as well as those on the verge of being homeless. This includes roughly 37,000 of America’s veteran population who have no home to call their own. The toll this issue takes on veteran mental health is especially worrisome, as homeless veterans are almost eight times as likely to end their lives than non-veteran homeless individuals.  

With the right resources and the right plan, we can end this problem. Housing First, a pilot program by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs providing veterans with housing and supportive wraparound services, reduced homelessness within the community by 50 percent over the past 10 years. Three states in particular — Connecticut, Virginia and Delaware — achieved “net zero veteran homelessness” using the Housing First approach. Veterans and their families deserve the dignity of being stably housed and provided with the support services they need to thrive. 

Housing First is just one program that can be expanded to help hundreds of thousands of Americans currently without shelter. But it won’t happen unless those debating the omnibus bill in Congress view homelessness as a public health and social crisis worthy of intervention and immediate attention.  

Homelessness requires political compassion. It should not a partisan issue. Its impact on families, communities and children can be seen in nearly every city and state in the nation. We need lawmakers to confront it, just like Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) did by working together to co-introduce legislation in September to support state funding that would help thousands of America’s homeless youth.  

Our elected leaders have an opportunity, right now, to follow their example and make a statement by preserving funding to end homelessness in America in the fiscal year 2023 omnibus bill. Homelessness should not be on the table; children, families and veterans deserve a safe and stable place to live. 

Lyndon Haviland, DrPH, MPH, is a distinguished scholar at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy.