Res. No. 1928
Resolution calling on the United States Congress to reverse the sequestration and to restore the cuts that have been made to the budget of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
By Council Members Wills, Barron, Brewer, Chin, Dickens, Dromm, Eugene, Fidler, Jackson, James, King, Koppell, Mendez, Palma, Vann and Rodriguez
Whereas, In August 2011, as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, bipartisan majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate voted for sequestration as a mechanism to compel Congress to act on deficit reduction; and
Whereas, The sequestration would impose automatic, across-the-board spending cuts if the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction ("the Committee"), a committee comprised of twelve members from Congress, could not issue a recommendation by November 2011 for at least $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction steps to be undertaken over a ten-year period; and
Whereas, The Committee was unable to settle on deficit reduction steps in the required timeframe thereby triggering the implementation of sequestration in March 2013; and
Whereas, As a result of sequestration, government agencies, including the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"), will see cuts totaling $1.2 trillion over the next ten years; and
Whereas, HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all; and
Whereas, Sequestration will affect communities in the City that rely on programs such as the Housing Choice Voucher program, commonly referred to as the Section 8 program, administered by HUD; and
Whereas, The Section 8 program is the federal government's major program for assisting, in the form of housing subsidies, low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford housing in neighborhoods of their choice; and
Whereas, Currently, the average income of families in the Section 8 program is approximately $15,300 and their average monthly out-of-pocket rent is around $350 per month; and
Whereas, Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) must apply to HUD for Section 8 funds; and
Whereas, In New York City, there are two PHAs that administer Section 8, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development ("HPD") and the New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA"); and
Whereas, HPD administers approximately 29,000 Section 8 vouchers and NYCHA administers approximately 92,000 Section 8 vouchers; and
Whereas, In 2013, HPD and NYCHA faced cuts of $36 million and $78 million to their Section 8 programs respectively; and
Whereas, While HPD and NYCHA plan to address cuts to their Section 8 program by adjusting their policies and procedures, many families are at risk of being permanently removed from the program and will have nowhere else to go; and
Whereas, Sequestration will significantly affect HUD's ability to provide the most vulnerable New Yorkers with safe, affordable places to live; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the United States Congress to reverse the sequestration and to restore the cuts that have been made to the budget of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.