House MinorityLeader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) released the following statement
on the $425 million emergency shelter supplemental budget approved by the House
of Representatives today:
“The supplemental spending bill approved by the House today makes modest changes to the state’s troubled emergency shelter system, some of which are only temporary, but does little to address the many underlying problems associated with the program. Rather than implementing meaningful reforms that will guarantee the long-term financial stability of the program, all we are doing is continuing to pour money into a broken system, which continues to soak up limited state resources and crowd out other important spending priorities. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a stop-gap measure, and it is only a matter of time before the Healey-Driscoll Administration will be back again seeking additional funding. Before we commit more funding to this program, we should wait to see the results of the program audit that is currently being conducted by the state auditor’s office.
If the state is serious about correcting the deficiencies in the emergency housing assistance program, then we need to do more than just pay lip service to reform and embrace real change. The House Republican Caucus offered a series of amendments to enhance transparency, accountability, public safety and fiscal responsibility within the emergency shelter program and attempted to offer amendments authorizing law enforcement to honor ICE detainer requests for dangerous criminals, but those proposals were rejected by leadership. Establishing minimum residency requirements for accessing services and mandating comprehensive universal background checks for applicants beyond basic CORI checks are common-sense proposals that would truly make a difference. Instead, today’s House vote represents a missed opportunity to finally implement meaningful reforms to stabilize the emergency shelter program.”
