Nancy Pelosi: “this bill is a bad bill because it fails to adequately fund housing assistance for impoverished working men and women…”

“this bill is a bad bill because it fails to adequately fund housing assistance for impoverished working men and women and it ignores America's housing crisis. Despite the shortage of affordable housing that plagues many cities and rural communities, this bill fails to fund America's tremendous housing needs. Even worse, this bill cuts several billion dollars from last year's budget for many important affordable housing programs. Why did the Republicans design a bill that cuts housing assistance for low-income working men and women? Why do Republicans ignore America's obvious shortage of affordable housing? Quite simply, they cut housing assistance to pay for tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. In March, they voted $123 billion in tax breaks for the best-off one percent of all taxpayers--those with an annual salary exceeding $319,000. Just last week, the Republicans voted to repeal the Estate Tax--a giveaway of another $50 billion to the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. This GOP plan would provide about $10 billion to America's wealthiest 400 families. In sharp contrast, this bill denies housing assistance to Americans living in Section 8 housing and public housing, who on average earn an annual $7,800. It denies housing assistance for senior citizens on fixed incomes. It forces working men and women to choose between housing, health care, food, and other basic needs. This GOP budget is unlivable for us in San Francisco.”