Bob Barr: “In my home county of Cobb Georgia we have seen first hand the problems associated with the Federal Government…”

“In my home county of Cobb Georgia we have seen first hand the problems associated with the Federal Government controlling the purse strings. In one case, due to a misunderstanding between the national HUD office and the Regional office Cobb County has been made to suffer. In a circumstance where Cobb county should have received upwards of six hundred thousand dollars to benefit the homeless. Instead only one project worth eighty one thousand dollars were approved. In a recent letter to Speaker Gingrich, the Cobb County Community Development Block Grant Program wrote the following: We do not understand why HUD chose to ignore the needs of the sizable homeless population in Cobb County, particularly when local organizations have done such a good job of carrying out local planning and coordination in compliance with HUD's stated objectives for the Continuum of Care process. Nor do we feel that HUD has been candid in explaining why the project was not funded. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 217 consolidates the seven existing homeless programs under HUD and requires all Federal departments and agencies to coordinate homeless assistance.”