Rep. Mike Levin Criticizes House Appropriations Bill for Undermining Congressional Power and Funding Cuts

Concerns with the FY26 THUD Bill

• ❌ Rep. Mike Levin expressed disappointment with the FY26 THUD Bill, despite some funding for his district, citing significant omissions and problematic provisions.
• 📉 A major concern is the complete zeroing out of funding for the federal state partnership for inner city passenger rail grant program, which is crucial for repairing and replacing rail infrastructure nationwide.

Impact on Passenger Rail

• 🚆 The Losan corridor in Southern California, a vital passenger rail line serving over 4 million passengers annually and handling over $1 billion in freight, is directly threatened by the funding cut.
• ⚠️ This corridor is also critical for national security, as it's part of the Defense Department's STRANET, essential for military readiness and troop movement from Camp Pendleton.
• 🌊 Without adequate funding, the reliability of rail corridors like Losan is jeopardized due to issues like erosion and landslides.

Homelessness and Housing Voucher Funding

• 🏠 The bill is criticized for failing to address homelessness by not increasing voucher funding to keep pace with rising housing costs and inflation.
• 🏘️ This will prevent families with vouchers in areas like San Diego and Orange County from securing affordable housing.
• 👴👵 Insufficient increases in elder and disabled housing voucher funding are particularly concerning, as the elderly are the fastest-growing homeless population in San Diego.

Erosion of Congressional Authority

• 🏛️ Levin highlighted that the bill codifies administration cuts to HUD staff, hindering program administration, and fails to commit to two-year funding for continuums of care.
• 📜 The legislation grants broad authority to the secretary to alter program requirements, including voucher time limits and rent increases for low-income families.
• ⚖️ He argued that the committee is ceding its power to the administration, specifically the Office of Management and Budget, violating Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution regarding Congress's spending authority.