HUD Secretary Scott Turner visits Houston touting $314 million Disaster Block Grant

Housing secretary brings relief grant to Houston

U.S. Housing Secretary Scott Turner spoke in Houston on Tuesday about a new grant to be allocated to disaster recovery.

HOUSTON -  U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner appeared in Houston on Tuesday to discuss the shortage of affordable housing, sheltering the homeless and preparing for disastrous heavy weather.

$314 million Disaster Recovery Grant

 Touting a $314 million Disaster Recovery grant for the City of Houston, Turner made clear his support for future "work requirements" for Americans currently receiving Federal housing subsidies.

 In a press event with Mayor John Whitmire, Turner praised the City of Houston's plans to use part of the grant to install emergency power generators fueled by storm-resistant natural gas at more than 100 municipal facilities deemed "critical" or "priority".

What they're saying:

 "When somebody is an able-bodied person and an able-minded person, and they are able to work, they should work. Work restores dignity. Work incentivizes those who are coming behind us to work very hard, but what we have seen in our country is a mindset of complacency which causes stagnation, which causes deterioration. It hurts the family unit. And when I visit public housing authorities in cities where people, able-bodied people have been living in public housing for over 20 years. That's what we have to break in our country," said Turner.  

Turner said the department hopes the City of Houston will continue the work they're doing on improvements.

"It's this resilience we at HUD want to encourage and that we want to bolster, and that we want to emphasize and uplift," said Turner.

 Whitmire and Turner also toured Harris Health Center for Mental Health and discussed cooperative efforts to address homelessness in Houston.

"Homelessness drives me nuts. It's not fair to the homeless victims nor the citizens. We are committed to put the homeless in shelters and provide for them," said Whitmire.

"We understand you have to put the axe head to the root. Housing is important, but it has to be a holistic view when you look at homelessness," said Turner, who vowed to partner with the City of Houston in "eradicating homelessness."

The other side:

Critics of "work requirements" attached to housing subsidies say they have failed to economically elevate recipients when attempted in the past.

 Turner was also greeted by protesters, many with the Texas Organizing Project, who contend Whitmire and the City of Houston are not devoting enough of the HUD grant to rehabilitating housing damaged by past storms.

What's next:

The Republican-controlled Congress may consider both "work requirements" and "time limits" for citizens receiving housing subsidies.

Approximately 9 million Americans currently get federal housing assistance.