Bruce F. Vento: “I would just follow on with the gentleman. I appreciate it. It was the right decision, incidentally, to…”

“I would just follow on with the gentleman. I appreciate it. It was the right decision, incidentally, to deinstitutionalize. I as a State legislator had to face the same programs with the SLICK programs and others that have been put in place, which have not been adequately funded through the various programs. Yet, again, this Congress is not facing up to that funding issue. I would suggest to the gentleman, Mr. Chairman, having worked with the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, and others on this problem for many years, having actually named this program after my colleague from Connecticut, the McKinney Act, and the good work that was done by one of the gentleman's predecessors, Eddie Boland, and the gentleman from Ohio, Lou Stokes, in terms of the FEMA moneys, very often it is pretty hard to tell whether someone is mentally ill and on the street for that reason or mentally ill because they are on the street. I remember very prophetic testimony concerning a sociologist, Louisa Stark from Arizona, commenting on the phenomenon in terms of what it means to be placed on the street without even shelter over your head, and the stripping of the dignity of people in our society. This problem is one that cannot stand.”