Take action to preserve housing assistance

The sequester, coupled with years of inadequate funding and longer-term spending caps established by the 2011 Budget Control Act, threatens to cripple vital housing programs such as public housing, Section 8 and Community Development Block Grants. These programs help house our community’s most vulnerable — children, seniors, persons with disabilities and veterans. Without proper funding, these populations who rely on housing assistance will be at risk of homelessness.

Elected officials need to act now to shut off the sequester, return to regular order, achieve deficit reduction in a balanced fashion and, most importantly, finally pass a 2013 spending bill that enables local housing and redevelopment agencies to fulfill their mission in a responsible fashion.

Laura Siebert

Grayslake