HUD Temporarily Pauses Homelessness Funding Overhaul
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday temporarily revoked a controversial policy change that would significantly cut permanent housing funding for people experiencing homelessness.
HUD withdrew the notice of funding opportunity about 90 minutes before a Monday afternoon court hearing regarding two lawsuits challenging the agency’s recent changes to the Continuum of Care program — one from a coalition of 21 attorneys generals and governors and another from a group of 11 local governments and non-profit organizations.
According to a court filing, HUD’s reasoning for rescinding the policy change was “to assess the issues raised by Plaintiffs in their suits and to fashion a revised [notice of funding opportunity].
The new conditions placed on the program would also give HUD the ability to restrict funding for organizations that acknowledge the existence of transgender or nonbinary individuals.
The withdrawal of the notice shortly before Monday’s court hearing surprised U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy, who said she wasn’t aware of the development.
“This sort of haphazard approach to administrative law is the problem,” said McElroy, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2019 after an initial nomination by former President Barack Obama expired.
“You can change the policy all you want but there’s a mechanism for doing so and it’s not doing things an hour before court and it’s not doing some of the things that have been done in these cases,” McElroy said during the hearing. She ordered the government to submit new arguments by next week addressing the last-minute change.”
Read more at Politico.