REQUEST FOR SENATE SUPPORT FOR LOW-INCOME TENANTS

March 16, 2011 Dear Senator Tester, Thank you for voting against the House Tea Party Bill for Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations and for the Senate Appropriations Committee bill last week. We’re expecting Senator Schumer to introduce a scaled down version of the comprehensive Preservation bill in the Senate, based on H.R. 4868, which the House Financial Services Committee reported out last July but never came up for a vote in the house and has yet to be introduced to the Senate. We support H.R. 4868 overall. Specifically, we would like the language beefed up in Section 304 of H. R. 4868 - Access to Information - more like what was in the earlier version of 4868. We would like for you Senator to support the No Cost Tenant Empowerment provisions in H.R. 4868, as well as supporting moving the bill overall to help save and preserve the National Housing Stock. The talking points I would to leave with you today are from last year, 2010, which gives a short summary of what we are supporting in the preservation bill. Another National tenant group that I belong to called the Resident’s Engagement Group which was put together in the late fall of 2009 at the request of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan recently had a telephone conference call with Carrie Johnson, staff person for Representative Ellison from Minnesota, around this same issue of Access to Information. REG is requesting Representative Ellison strengthen the language in RHRA or as the bill was previously known by PETRA, before re-introducing this bill in the house. The RHRA language was based on the paragraph in H.R. 4868, but was watered down in the version Congressman Ellison filed last December. Since RHRA or PETRA isn’t being looked at by the Senate at this time to our knowledge. We would like to ask Senator Tester to join with Senator Schumer’s office in filing a scaled down version of the comprehensive Preservation Bill. Thank you for your time in this matter, Susan Floerchinger, Tenant Advocate Mouse In The Weeds 8276 Huffine Lane Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 600-1653 http://www.snakewomanspeaks.blogspot.com snakewomanspeaks@gmail.com

EDUCATION AND HOUSING AND JOBS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

http://feedre.com/hud-secretary-outlines-housing-goals-discusses-2012-budge The above link came out March 2, 2011. While deciding what direction the REG< NAHT< and the many other organizations and INDIVIDUALS on the collective action group call: right where Sec. Donovan has taken it himself. I really think it is the best way to go. Click the above link to learn more.

Public Housing

http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/am/overview.cfm Click the above link to understand HUD and Public Housing.

Low Income Section 8 Rental Program In Montana

Section 8 Programs The HUD Section 8 Low Income Rental Assistance Housing Programs provide rental assistance to very low income families throughout Montana. Tenant Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Programs •Housing Choice Vouchers •Moderate Rehabilitation Financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Montana Housing Division. Allow very low income families to pay a set amount towards rent and utilities, based on their gross adjusted income (currently 30%). Very low income families have incomes of 50 percent or less of the HUD median family income . . . . . . click here to learn more:http://housing.mt.gov/about/section8/default.mcpx

LOW INCOME TENANTS SHUT DOWN CHICAGO STREET!!!!!!

More than 300 tenants, service providers and allies from across the Chicago metro-region marched on Friday, February 25 to protest deep cuts to the HUD Budget. Protesters constructed a cardboard box "Tea Party Housing Development" to block traffic on Clark Street during rush hour to draw public attention to the injustice of targeting the deepest federal budget cuts to programs for low-and moderate-income communities, including vital HUD housing programs. Traffic was stopped in front of the Chicago Federal Building housing the Illinois offices of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. 11 protesters participating in the traffic blockade were arrested and released a few hours later. See news links below. The story was picked up in Philadelphia, Dallas and probably other cities (let us know if you saw it in yours). CHI is planning follow up actions to keep the heat on their targets! http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/4014509-418/protestors-rip-republican-cuts-to-housing-budget-block-downtown-traffic.html http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7981132 http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-arrests-protest-loop-hud-feb25,0,4982202.story http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/02/25/police-arrest-11-in-rush-hour-protest-in-the-loop/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-il--protestarrests,0,6381551.story http://www.progressillinois.com/quick-hits/content/2011/02/25/pushback-against-federal-austerity-bubbles-chicago#comments http://www.google.com/search?q=Chicago+loop+protests&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=Chicago+loop+protests&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=UWN&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&tbs=qdr:d&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=WyVpTYKTDtOEtgewpsTmAg&ved=0CCIQmAcwAQ&fp=2affa4daec1e7f43

VETERANS DISPOSABLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

House resolution: HR 1, the FR2011 Budget proposal cut the $75 million that has been in the budget for the past two years for Department of Housing and Urban Development–Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, the report says that on a single night in January 2009, 75,609 veterans were homeless; and an estimated 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 20009. The $75 million that has been in the budget was enough to support 10,000 vouchers. that is only 1 out of every 13 homeless vets families, and the Republicans in the House cut even that.

I don't know about anyone else, but in my opinion this is a slap in the face of the men and women who laid down their lives to protect our homes, we are going to toss them out like last weeks bath water.  Shame on you US Government.  Maybe we should just lower their salaries to minimum wage and see what kind of response we get on these budget cuts when they have to face the harsh reality that the US is falling behind in providing for her own people.  Funny, we have plenty of money to give away to foreign countries, but we can't or wont house our needy.

Doesn't it say somewhere on the Statue of Liberty "Give me your poor. . . . ."?  Why, so we can add to our homeless population?  Our government seems to be doing fine on its own.  You know it is 3% of the population that has the rest of  us in this position.  When will the  95% of the population that wants to pretend this wont effect them wake up and call Congressman Rehberg and demand full funding for HUD.  Here is the phone number, 1-202-225-3211 for his DC office, or call here at home on his 1-888-232-2626.  That phone really doesn't weigh 500 lbs.  You can even call after hours and leave a message.  No one but you and the Congressman will know you called.  So what is stopping you?  No phone?  No desire to stay warm until spring?  Or just don't believe that they are really going to take $23.7 million dollars from Montana housing?

I never thought I would see the day that the US would take on classes, pushing the poor, elderly, disabled, and veterans into surf status.  Something is wrong with this picture.  Call today, the home you save maybe Grandma's.
Than you for your efforts.

MONTANA RENTAL SUBSIDIESED PROGRAMS TO BE CUT

The Montana Board of Housing offers financing to produce rental housing that is affordable for low-income Montanans. The Multifamily Program monitors these properties to ensure that they comply with federal and state requirements and that they fulfill the obligations they committed to for the financial assistance they receive. The Reverse Annuity Mortgage Program is one of the few RAMs that has been implemented by a State Housing Finance Agency and Montana is proud of the support we have been able to extend to many low-income seniors who wish to stay in their home as long as possible. The Risk Sharing Program is a collaboration between the Montana Board of Housing and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which provides FHA insured permanent financing for units of multifamily rental property in Montana.

The General Obligation (G.O.) Program is a source of permanent mortgage financing for affordable rental housing which meets certain low income occupancy and rent limitation requirements. The Board provides mortgage underwriting and loan management as well as financing.