[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 8001] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]INTRODUCTION OF THE HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE FUNDING FAIRNESS ACT ______ HON. JOHN ELIAS BALDACCI of maine in the house of representatives Thursday, April 29, 1999 Mr. BALDACCI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today the Homelessness Assistance Funding Fairness Act that will ensure that every state receives a minimum allocation of funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's ``Continuum of Care'' grant programs. I am introducing this legislation in conjunction with Senator Susan Collins of Maine. We have been working to address the challenges of meeting the needs of homeless people in a rural state for some time now, and I believe that this legislation represents an important step forward. Homelessness is a problem that knows no boundaries. In every state, Americans find themselves without adequate shelter or access to affordable housing. Unfortunately, since the Continuum of Care grants are currently awarded on a competitive basis, some states may be denied funding in a given year. Homelessness is also not limited to urban areas. In fact, rural homelessness is a significant problem and may pose even greater challenges due to geographical realities. Maine is a predominantly rural state. Homelessness is a growing problem, with more than 14,000 people currently believed to be homeless. While this number may seem relatively small, when we consider that the state's overall population is only 1.2 million, we recognize that there is in fact a significant problem. In the past, Maine organizations have competed successfully for Continuum of Care funding. In fact, last year, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo visited several of Maine's homeless assistance projects and presented them with a ``Best Practices'' award in recognition of their excellent work. For that reason, it came as a shock when HUD announced in 1999 Continuum of Care grant recipients and we learned that no funds had been awarded to any Maine applicants. In addition to Maine, three other states--Oklahoma, Kansas and North Dakota--were not awarded any Continuum of Care funding this year. The homeless of these four rural states are just as deserving and in need of assistance as the homeless of the other 46 states. Unfortunately, they are now facing drastic cuts in services and the outright elimination of many programs that have sought to provide housing and services to help break the cycle of poverty and dependency. I respect the goals of the competitive funding process: to encourage excellence; to foster innovation; and to ensure that Federal taxpayers get the most ``bang for their buck'' when it comes to providing assistance to America's homeless. But I also recognize that in a competition such as this, excellent programs sometimes fall just short of the cut-offs that are determined by funding availability. And I am concerned especially because the cut-offs are absolute--Maine's funding, for example, went from about $3.7 million to $0. For that reason, I am introducing this legislation which will provide a safety net to ensure that every state receives at least a minimum allocation to provide a Continuum of Care to that state's homeless. My legislation would continue the grant competition, but would provide that every state must receive at least half a percent of the total Continuum of Care funds. This would ensure that the homeless of every state would be able to count on some continuity of services from year to year. It is not an exaggeration to say that lives depend on the services provided as a result of the Continuum of Care grants. People must have a place to escape the bitter cold of a January day in Maine or the brutal heat of an August day in Texas. People must have a chance to break out of poverty ad to become productive citizens. This is difficult to do when much of each day must be spent meeting such basic needs as finding food and shelter. The Homelessness Assistance Funding Fairness Act would take a small step in ensuring that no state's homeless persons are left without assistance in finding permanent or transitional housing. Unless we take action, the tragedy that has befallen Maine's homeless population this year, could easily happen to those of other states next year when the funds are competed again. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. ____________________