(Newhouse News Service circulated the following story by Jo-Ann Moriarty on November 16.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate is poised to vote on a $105.6 billion spending plan for transportation, housing and development programs, which gives an extra $75 million to Amtrak, $75 million for housing vouchers for homeless veterans and $21 million to redevelop housing in urban centers.
In the House, U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, managed the bill on the House floor. It was eventually approved on Wednesday by a vote of 270-147, not enough to override President Bush’s veto threat. The president voiced criticism of the bill earlier this week because it is $5.5 billion more than he budgeted.
In the House, the bill was written in the Appropriations Committee by the subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, which Olver chairs. The spending plan passed the House and Senate earlier this year. A House-Senate conference committee worked out a final agreement last week. The Senate needs to vote on the final draft.
“At their core, both transportation and housing have a direct impact on the people we represent. All of us are affected by congestion on our roads, travel delays in our airports, and the lack of dependable public transportation,” Olver said in presenting the bill.
Olver highlighted budget priorities and spending decisions made by the House-Senate committee, including spending $1.3 billion for Amtrak, plus an additional $75 million for a new intercity passenger rail program “to create a faster, safer and more reliable intercity passenger rail system.”
“The $75 million was requested by the president,” Olver said.
Olver first heralded $75 million to “provide roughly 10,000 housing vouchers and supportive services to homeless veterans.”
“For the first time in 13 years, our bill includes $75 million for the Veterans Affairs Supported Housing program, commonly known as VASH,” Olver said.
“While we don’t know the exact number of homeless veterans, the Veterans Administration has estimated that there were as many as 196,000 during a point-in-time count just last year,” Olver said.
John F. Downing, the CEO and president of the United Veterans of America based in the Leeds section of Northampton, called the bill “a tremendous reflection of the best government can do when it wants to serve the community.”
“The money for housing, the Section 8 vouchers will be administered by the VA’s homeless program because they have the greatest focus on needed vets ,” Downing said .
The bill also contains $30 million to finance 4,000 new vouchers for the disabled, Olver said, noting that it is the first time in five years vouchers for the disabled has increased. It also provides $250 million in federal aid to help homeowners deal with the current foreclosure crisis.
The federal Hope VI program created under President Clinton to redevelop housing in urban centers was increased by $21 million for a total budget of $120 million. The president was looking to eliminate the program. It was funded at $778 million in 2004. Holyoke was one of the first cities in the nation to receive a Hope VI grant, and it is writing an application for another redevelopment project in the city’s downtown.
The House and Senate conference committee also agreed to spend $3.7 billion on the Community Development Block Grant program – which represents a $100 million increase. The president had proposed cutting the program by $822 million.