The National Housing Law Project On Trump’s Unlawful Proposal To Take Away Housing: People And Families Already Struggling Will Be Forced To Risk Homelessness
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Housing Law Project today released the following statement by Deputy Director Deborah Thrope in response to Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publishing a Proposed Rule that could take away housing assistance from millions of families by allowing housing providers to impose strict work requirements and harsh time limits across almost all HUD housing programs:
“Taking away housing from people who do not meet harsh work requirements or who exceed strict time limits is an assault on our country’s poor and working families, most of whom include seniors and people with disabilities.
“This proposal is based on false and harmful stereotypes, rather than concrete data or best practices. It ignores the fact that most participants in federal housing programs who can work, do in fact work. Saving enough to move off of assistance takes a long time and a lot of support. In the current economy and under this administration, most poor and working people will continue to struggle under this proposal.
“What actually prohibits American families from being stably housed are sky-high housing costs that far outpace wages, such that people who work full time or even multiple jobs cannot afford their basic needs. Working people are often forced to choose between full time employment and caring for family members who need extra help like children, seniors, or adults with disabilities.Policies that take away housing like work requirements and time limits will fuel mass housing instability and accelerate widespread racial, economic, and health disparities. By imposing work requirements and time limits on HUD tenants, Trump is evicting our poorest neighbors, cutting funding for affordable housing, and worsening the housing crisis for everyone.
“No matter where we live or how much money we make, our government has the resources to ensure that all of us have a safe and affordable place to call home. We reject this unlawful proposal, and we’re ready to defend the federal housing programs and fight to keep people stably housed.”
The National Housing Law Project is reviewing the details of the proposal and will soon provide an analysis. For now, find more details about the proposal in a one-pager. Research uniformly shows that harsh and inflexible work requirements and time limits in public benefits programs lead to economic precarity without a corresponding increase in employment because families lose access to desperately needed assistance.