Chuck Schumer: “HOPWA is an extremely important program, offered by the gentlewoman from California and myself several years ago. It has…”

“HOPWA is an extremely important program, offered by the gentlewoman from California and myself several years ago. It has been remarkably successful. As the gentleman from Wisconsin pointed out, not only is it humane, these are people who are dying and who will be on the streets, but it is also cheaper. It is a lot cheaper to have someone in one of these HOPWA facilities than in a hospital where it costs far more, $500, $600, $700, $800 a day, to keep them. They are not treated in a way that is as humane, and it is more expensive. The reason the moneys are not expended is that 97 percent of the 1994 dollars have been authorized and appropriated. The reason they are not spent is because the groups have 3 years to do it, to build the housing and get the facility ready. The 1995 moneys have not been allocated, because the Department of housing just put together a State-by-State analysis. So I would appeal to him and others on his side to allow this amendment to go forward. It is a compassionate amendment. It saves dollars. This is not an issue of politics.”