Share
Ben Carson's HUD Plans To Increase Rent On Millions Receiving Federal Housing Assistance
Ben Carson was confirmed as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in March 2017. Carson has zero experience in housing policy, but has said that anyone who questions his qualifications are stupid. He actually said that.
Yet here we are and millions will suffer as a result. Carson ought to go back to wasting taxpayer dollars on office furniture. At least that damage was limited to a few hundred thousand dollars.
....Carson wants Americans living on housing assistance to put more of their income toward rent and he wants to give public housing authorities the ability to impose work requirements on tenants.... would raise from 30 percent to 35 percent the amount of their income that Americans on housing assistance pay toward their housing. It would also require that the money be made by at least 15 hours of work at the federal minimum wage level.
In some cases, rental payments for some of the neediest families would triple, rising from a minimum of $50 per month to a minimum of $150, according to HUD officials. Some 712,000 households would see their rents jump to $150 per month under the proposal, the officials said.
If passed, the changes in how rent is calculated could impact many of the 4.7 million families HUD helps to obtain affordable housing.
Congress has to approve such changes, but we know not to count on the Republican majority. Most if not all of them love a plan that strips away anything from the neediest of our society.
Carson's falsely claims the changes will not apply to those over 65. This is a lie.
Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.... said seniors could still be affected because the proposal also removes some income deductions that tenants could use to lower rents. "The bill would actually increase rents for households that have high medical or child care expenses by eliminating income deductions for those costs. So the greatest burden of the rent increases would be felt by seniors, people with disabilities and families with young kids," Yentel said.
Tenants' rights advocates condemned the HUD proposal.
Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., who is also chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, criticized the rent overhaul. "Secretary Carson's immoral, ill-advised proposal is the latest example of the Trump administration's war on poor people," Richmond said in a statement. "Thankfully this proposal would require Congressional approval before it can become law, and the Congressional Black Caucus will work with our colleagues in Congress to oppose it and other related measures," he said.
Sources: