On this webinar, we’ll cover the most important current issues related to the state and federal budgets for housing and homeless programs, including:
STATE BUDGET: The focus will be on the FY14 state budget for Emergency and Transitional Housing, Homeless Prevention, Supportive Housing Services, the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund and related programs. Governor Quinn released his budget proposal on March 6 and the House and Senate will soon be focusing more attention on the own proposals in light of the budget pressures Illinois continues to face, such as what to do about underfunded pensions. Housing Action’s work between now and end of May will be focused on preserving certain parts of Governor’s proposal and increasing funding for supportive housing services and we need your help!
FEDERAL BUDGET: Between sequestration, the current year FY13 budget, deficit reduction negotiations, and the budget for FY14 it can be hard to keep track of what’s going on. We’ll try to make it clear what the short and long-term implications are for programs such as McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, Housing Choice Vouchers, Project-Based Section 8 contracts and Housing Counseling. We’ll also talk about which members of the Illinois Congressional delegation are most important for us to reach out to.
PROACTIVE SOLUTIONS: Working on state and federal budget issues has obviously been challenging in recent years. However, there are proactive campaigns to increase affordable housing and end homelessness that we’ll provide brief updates on. At the federal level, Housing Action supports the United for Homes campaign to reform of the mortgage interest deduction and use the savings for the National Housing Trust Fund. At the state level, we’ve endorsed the A Better Illinois campaign to amend the State of Illinois Constitution to allow for a fair income tax.
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