Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) today condemned Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Alfonso Jackson’s statement, “I do not believe being poor is a condition. I believe it is a state of mind.” Secretary Jackson, who was recently named by the Bush Administration as HUD Secretary, was making his first appearance before the Subcommittee on Housing, which has oversight of HUD.

Joined by other Members on the Housing committee, Lee led the charge against Jackson, saying that his statement -- and the mindset that it revealed -- was a disgrace and insult to the millions of Americans who are victims of the Bush Administration’s harsh policies. “It’s obvious then,” Lee said, “why you’re cutting Hope VI, Shelter Plus, and all the other homeless programs.”  

Under President Bush’s FY 05 budget, Section 8 funding is $1.63 billion below the level necessary to renew all Section 8 assistance; care for the chronic homeless is cut by $128 million, and the Hope VI program is terminated.

Afterwards, Lee said, “The Secretary’s statement was really unconscionable and insensitive.  I defy the Secretary to tell all those people looking for jobs in this horrible economy; all those people who spend night after night in the cold; and all those working poor and their families who must live in transitional shelters because the cost of housing is so high that ‘poor is a state of mind.’”

 

 

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