Washington-led coalition secures order protecting federal support for homelessness services
Washington and a multistate coalition have won their case challenging Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) illegal attempt to cap funding for permanent housing projects that help families facing housing insecurity or experiencing homelessness. If the coalition had not successfully challenged HUD’s policy, nearly 3,000 Washingtonians would have lost their homes.
“The lawlessness happening in our federal agencies has real consequences for people who are struggling to get by,” said Attorney General Nick Brown. “With this victory, we’ve protected funding for housing in Washington and provided stability for Washington families.”
For more than two decades, HUD has embraced a commitment to permanent housing programs and the Housing First model, which prioritizes rapid placement in permanent housing without requiring people to first meet conditions such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold. But the current federal administration has rejected that commitment and undermined the Continuum of Care (CoC) program.
In June, the states won a separate case against HUD in federal court in Rhode Island regarding the agency’s decision last year to impose illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the CoC program, including an attempt to impose a cap on the amount of CoC funds that can support permanent supportive housing.
After that cap was struck down as unlawful, HUD changed its tactics. They issued a notice of funding opportunity that would have created a $1.3 billion set-aside for new projects prioritizing such things as transitional housing, which would have resulted in a de facto cap on permanent housing. That shift threatened housing for at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing across the country, and more than 2,900 in Washington state, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Washington again led a coalition of states in suing to block these harmful changes. Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted critical parts of the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that HUD’s set-aside was unlawful and cannot be implemented.
Brown co-led the lawsuit with New York Attorney General Letitia James and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. The suit was also joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
-30-
Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Media Contact:
Email: press@atg.wa.gov
Phone: (360) 753-2727
General contacts: Click here
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
