Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless

On Saturday, the House of Representatives concluded their weeklong debate of the House's fiscal year 2009 budget proposal. Throughout the week, House leadership and members considered more than 1,500 amendments to the House Ways and Means Committee budget, and merged selected amendments into sixteen issue-specific consolidated amendments (including amendments focusing on Housing/Economic Development and Social Services/Department of Transitional Assistance). The full House voted on the consolidated amendments, adding $210 million and many language changes to the budget proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee. The final House budget calls for $28.2 billion in FY'09 spending. Thank you for contacting your Representative to urge her/him to support amendments related to housing, benefits, and emergency resources for people at-risk and experiencing homelessness. While the final House budget does not include all of the amendments for which we advocated, the budget does better reflect these priorities. Please see below for more information about specific amendments.

Next Steps: If you have time, please thank your Representative for the work she/he did to advocate for these priorities. Please also continue to keep up the dialogue with your State Senator. The Senate Ways and Means Committee should be releasing their version of the FY'09 budget next week. We will let you know what is included in those budget recommendations, and what we hope to see added through the Senate's budget debate.

All state legislators can be reached through the State House switchboard at 617-722-2000. If you don't know who your Representative or Senator is, please click on this link to find out.

1.) Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (Amendment #691, for Line Item 7004-9024).

Amendment Outcome: $1 million added to line item. As filed by Representative Pam Richardson, this amendment asked for a $4 million increase to the Massachusetts Rental Voucher (MRVP) program to avoid cuts to the program in FY '09. Through the budget debate, the House added $1 million to the MRVP line item, bringing the recommended funding for FY'09 up to $32.9 million.

Your advocacy will be critical on the Senate side, as even this level of funding likely would force the Department of Housing and Community Development to make cuts in the rental assistance provided to households and/or take existing vouchers offline.

Amendment Outcome: Not adopted by the House. EAEDC grants have not been increased since 1988. The monthly grant is more than $560/month below the federal poverty line for a household of one. This no-cost amendment, filed by Representative Ruth Balser of Newton, would have given DTA discretion to increase the very low EAEDC grant levels if existing appropriations allowed.

Amendment Outcome: Not adopted by the House. Created in 2004, the First Stop Initiative has been working in partnership with community health centers to offer onsite homelessness prevention services to individuals and families experiencing a housing crisis or in need of assistance to navigate the road into affordable, stable housing. The amendment, filed by Representatives Steve Walsh of Lynn and Kathi-Anne Reinstein of Revere, would have placed an earmark in line item 4403-2120 to level fund the First Stop Program at $500,000. Language funding the program was included in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget and the amendment would have ensured the continuation of services in FY'09.

4.) Nutritional Assistance Amendment (Amendment #1273, for Line item 4404-1000).

Amendment Outcome: Not adopted by the House. This amendment, filed by Representative Antonio Cabral of New Bedford, would have provided $2 million to fund nutritional assistance for legal immigrants who are not eligible for federal food stamps. From 1997 to 2002, the Commonwealth provided state-funded nutritional assistance in line item 4404-1000 to legally present immigrants who did not qualify for federal nutritional assistance as a result of the 1996 federal welfare reform law. Prior to 2002, the cost of the program declined due to more legal immigrants qualifying for federally funded benefits and therefore no longer needing state-funded benefits. However, a state fiscal crisis caused this program to be suspended in July of 2002.

Nutritional Assistance Amendment Fact Sheet

5.) Residential Assistance for Families in Transition Amendment (Amendment #1475, for Line item 7004-9316).

Amendment Outcome: $250,000 added to line item. This amendment, filed by Representative David Sullivan of Fall River, would have added $1 million to the RAFT line item for FY'09 so that that the program can serve more families next year. While not adopted at its full amount, the House did propose adding $250,000 to RAFT. If maintained in the final budget, this would be the first increase for RAFT since FY'06.

6.) Public Housing Operating Subsidy Amendments (Amendments #554, 802, and 1449, for Line Item 4004).

Amendment Outcomes: $1 million added to line item. These amendments, filed by Representatives Michael Kane, Robert Fennell, and Thomas Stanley respectively, all called on the House to increase public housing operating subsidies from $66 million to $70 million for FY'09. The full House approved a $1 million increase, bringing the proposed funding to $67 million.

For more information contact Leslie Lawrence, Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, 781-595-7570 x 16


Home \| About Us \| Get Involved \| Publications \| Advocacy \| FAQ \| Resources \| Events \| Contact Us \| Donate
15 Bubier Street, Lynn, MA 01901
Phone: (781) 595-7570 Fax: (781) 595-7574