March 5, 2007

During the Special Mayoral Leadership Meeting in Washington, DC on January 11, Philadelphia Mayor John Street raised the issue of the funding shortfall of public housing subsidies in FY2007. Street explained that HUD had informed public housing authorities across the nation that they would have to operate with 76 cents for every dollar needed for their operations. This issue became the fifth point in the Mayor’s 2007 10-Point Plan presented to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) on the following day, January 12. Mayors also adopted an emergency resolution on January 25 calling for the funding of public housing operating subsidies during the Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting. Congress adopted a joint resolution on February 14, with a $300 million increase in funding for the public housing operating fund, which addressed the concern of Street and the nation’s mayors.