FY15 302 B THUD Letter
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March 19, 2014 The Honorable Barbara Mikulski The Honorable Richard Shelby Chair Vice Chair Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations U.S. Senate U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Harold Rogers The Honorable Nita Lowey Chair Ranking Member Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Chair Mikulski, Vice Chair Shelby, Chair Rogers, and Ranking Member Lowey: The organizations signed below - a list that includes 3,267 national, state, and local business, transportation, housing and community development, faith-based and civil rights organizations, as well as state and local officials in municipal, tribal and state governments - urge you to increase the 302(b) allocation to the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) to the highest possible level in fiscal year (FY) 2015. The THUD allocation uniquely promotes the well-being of our home communities by providing essential seed capital and program funding that enables public and private partners to build critical transportation infrastructure, spur economic development in communities, and help more than 5 million seniors, people with disabilities, and other families to afford stable housing. Through these investments, Congress supports small-business job creation, expands our nation’s infrastructure capacity, supports economic recovery and growth, reduces homelessness and housing hardships, and promotes lasting community and family economic success. In these tight times, the THUD bill’s investments yield high rates of social and economic return, and an adequate THUD allocation should be a high priority. Yet these investments have been cut sharply in recent years. Since FY 2010, the combination of budget cuts and sequestration have reduced the THUD allocation by over 25%. The devastating and wasteful impact of these cuts appear in countless metrics, from $101 billion in wasted fuel and lost productivity resulting from traffic congestion on 42% of America’s major highways, to stalled transportation projects that have left 45% of American households without access to public transit; from 70,000 low-income families losing rental assistance opportunities since 2012, to risking recent progress in reducing chronic homelessness by reducing overall support for the production and preservation of affordable housing. To support an increased FY 2015 THUD 302(b) allocation, we urge the Committees to continue the practice of directing revenues generated within the Department of Transportation and revenues generated within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to programs administered by those departments. Each undersigned organization recognizes that to build economically vibrant, healthy, and stable communities that families of all income levels can call home, no single aspect of the THUD budget can be ignored. As members of the Appropriations Committees, and more importantly as elected 1 representatives of your hometowns, we urge you to take a stand for investing in the success of America’s communities by increasing the 302(b) allocation to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee to the highest possible level in FY 2015. Sincerely, National Organizations 42 Equity Partners ACCSES Affordable Housing Analysts Affordable Housing Associates LLC Affordable Housing Investors Council African American Health Alliance AIDS United Alliance for Biking & Walking Alliance for Children and Families Amalgamated Transit Union America Walks American Association of Service Coordinators American Association on Health and Disability American Friends Service Committee American Planning Association Arnaudo Strategies LLC Association of Jewish Aging Services Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living Association of University Centers on Disabilities Atlantic American Partners LLC Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor Autism National Committee B'nai B'rith International Capital Impact Partners Center for Community Organization & Management Center for Community Self-Help Center for Employment Training Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Company CLEARCorps USA ClearPoint Credit Counseling Coalition on Human Needs Community Development, Inc. Community Solutions Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force 2 Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling, Inc. Corporate Social Responsibility Association Corporation for Enterprise Development Council for Affordable and Rural Housing Council of Large Public Housing Authorities Council of State Community Development CSH Daughters of Penelope Desarollo Real Estate Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund DOMO Consulting LLC DownHome Solutions Easter Seals Edgewater Group Elderly Housing Development & Operations Corporation Enterprise Community Asset Management Enterprise Community Partners Family Equality Council Family Promise Federal Housing Solutions First Focus Campaign for Children First Sterling Financial, Inc. ForestCity Franciscan Action Network Franciscan Sisters Friends Committee on National Legislation Gamaliel Gerding Builders LLC Global Green USA Gray Panthers Green Wall Group LLC Grow America Fund, Inc. Guaranty Bank Habitat for Humanity International Helwig Real Estate Services Herman & Kittle Properties, Inc. Highridge Costa Investors LLC Hosier Analytics Housing and Economic Development Corporation Public-Private Partnerships Housing Assistance Council Housing Partnership Network Housing Works Independent Living Partnership Innovative Housing Institute 3 Institute for Community Economics Institute for Educational Leadership Institute for Responsible Housing Preservation Institute of Real Estate Management JohnCo Development Corporation Justice Resource Institute Kingdom Community, Inc. LeadingAge Lead and Environmental Hazards Association League of American Bicyclists Local Initiatives Support Corporation Lutheran Services in America Lutheran Services in America Disability Network McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc. Meals On Wheels Association of America Mercy Housing, Inc. Mosaic MWA Architects NAACP National ADAPT National Advocacy Office, Sisters of the Good Shepherd National Affordable Housing Management Association National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc. National AIDS Housing Coalition National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations National Alliance of HUD Tenants National Alliance on Mental Illness National Alliance to End Homelessness National Alliance to Nurture the Aged and the Youth Community Economic Development Corporation National Association of Development Organizations National Association for County Community and Economic Development National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders National Association of Area Agencies on Aging National Association of Counties National Association of County Behavioral Health and Development Disability Directors National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies National Association of Regional Councils National Association of State and Local Equity Funds National Caucus and Center for Community Economic Development National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc. National Center for Healthy Housing National Center for Housing & Child Welfare National Center for Lesbian Rights 4 National Center for Transgender Equality National Church Residences National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development National Coalition for Homeless Veterans National Coalition for the Homeless National Community Development Association National Community Land Trust Network National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients National Council of State Housing Agencies National Council on Independent Living National Crittenton Foundation National Development Council National Development Council Corporate Equity Fund, Inc. National Development Council Housing and Economic Development Corporation National Development Council Renewable Energy National Disability Rights Network National Fair Housing Alliance National Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions, Inc. National Health Care for the Homeless Council National Housing & Rehabilitation Association National Housing Conference National Housing Institute National Housing Law Project, on behalf of its low-income clients National Housing Resource Center National Housing Trust National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty National League of Cities National Leased Housing Association National Low Income Housing Coalition National Manufactured Home Owners Association National Multiple Sclerosis Society National NeighborWorks Association National Network for Youth National Network to End Domestic Violence National Rural Housing Coalition Neighborhood Associates Corporation NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby Norstar Development USA LP Oppenheimer Multifamily Housing & Healthcare Finance, Inc. Paralyzed Veterans of America PolicyLink Poverty & Race Research Action Council Poz Vets USA-International Practitioners Leveraging Assets for Community Enhancement 5 Proctor Community Enterprises Progressive Democrats of America Provincial Council of the Clerics of St. Viator Prudential Huntoon Paige, Ltd. Public Housing Authority Directors Association Rebuilding Together, Inc. Resources for Human Development Retirement