Funding Boosted for People Living With HIV/AIDS

REALTOR® Magazine Online
U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) passed an amendment this week that restores $5 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding to the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program, which faced $13 million in budget cuts last year.

The measure, which was co-sponsored by Reps. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), partially makes up for the shortfall caused by those cuts. "This amendment scrapes together all available funding, so at least we can stop HOPWA's downhill slide," says Nadler.

The federal housing program helps the cities and states that are most affected by the AIDS epidemic to provide people suffering from the disease with housing assistance.

"The cost of treatment often forces people living with HIV and AIDS to decide between medicines and housing payments and other necessities," he says.

In addition to the HOPWA amendment, Nadler has also passed an amendment restoring funds to HUD's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.