Category: Spring 2009 Newswire
Sen. Dodd: It Wasn’t My Idea to Allow Bonuses
DODD RESPONSE
Norwalk Hour
Tait Militana
Boston University Washington News Service
3/19/09
WASHINGTON – Following days of attacks from Republican lawmakers over language that allowed bonuses to be paid to AIG employees, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., fired back Thursday evening, saying the Treasury Department requested the changes to protect bonuses and that they seemed “almost technical in nature at the time.”
“It wasn’t my idea, my proposal, my suggestion,” Dodd said in a conference call with Connecticut reporters. “It came from the administration. They gave us no indication whatsoever that these were related in anyway to AIG and I agreed to those changes.”
Dodd’s response came after days of denying he had anything to do with the legislation early in the week. He later admitted Wednesday that he had in fact authored the amendment to restrict bonuses and knowingly diluted it at the behest of the administration. According to Dodd, the mixed messages were a misunderstanding.
“I regret deeply that this matter has become confused,” Dodd said.
The language added a loophole to an amendment in the stimulus bill that would have restricted bonuses paid to employees of companies that had received funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Dodd said he did not know who requested the changes, but it was someone at the staff level in the Treasury Department.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNN Thursday that his department requested that Dodd change the amendment out of fear that numerous lawsuits would follow because the bonuses were contractually guaranteed.
Several House Republicans jumped on the controversy, saying Democrats were irresponsible in crafting the bonus modifications and should have known the potential consequences.
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said, “Democrats wrote the bill alone, secretly and yet they act surprised.”
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the House minority leader, said the controversy proved that Democrats moved too quickly on the stimulus bill, forcing it upon Congress without proper revision.
“It’s pretty clear not one person read [the stimulus bill],” Boehner said in his weekly legislative address.
Dodd said had he known the change would have let taxpayer money go to executive bonuses at AIG, he would not have accepted it.
“Had I known at the time that there were any AIG bonuses involved – that this was somehow going to assist in this matter – I would have rejected it completely,” Dodd said.
He also said he would return any campaign contribution from AIG employees who have received bonuses.
Dodd also addressed concerns that the controversy would hurt his chances at reelection, saying it is something that he cannot worry about. Republican Rob Simmons, who represented the 2nd District in the U.S. House until being defeated by Joe Courtney in 2006, announced this week that he would challenge Dodd in 2010.
“If I sat there everyday and worried where polls were, then you couldn’t do this,” said Dodd. “I can’t function that way.”
Dodd also said he supported a motion to implement at 90 percent tax on the AIG bonuses passed Thursday by the House 328-93. He said while his preference would be for the employees to voluntarily give back their bonuses the government must get as much back as it can
“I’m in favor of whatever surcharge we can get away with,” Dodd said.
####
Local Congressmen Vote in Favor of Tax on AIG Bonuses
TAX
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Sarah Gantz
Boston University Washington News Service
03/19/09
WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives voted Thursday to take back almost all of the money firms aided by the Troubled Assets Relief Program paid out as bonuses to employees, a measure local congressmen say is necessary to quell an infuriating situation.
The bill came as a response to public outcry over $165 million in bonuses TARP recipient American International Group gave to executives, many of whom are considered responsible for shaking the insurer’s stability.
The House voted 328-93 to enforce a 90 percent tax on the bonus paid by AIG and any other company that received more than $5 billion of taxpayer aid.
“Basically what we did today amounts to a big two by four that we’re slamming against the back of their heads,” said Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, who was incredulous that taxpayer money had been used so frivolously.
During debate Thursday, Mr. McGovern expressed on behalf of taxpayers the frustration that money paid with faith it would be put toward fixing a financial problem was squandered for the personal profit of those who played a role in the economy’s downward spiral.
“Those employees made bad bets, and now the American people are paying the tab,” said Mr. McGovern, who described the bonuses as “outrageous.”
Public anger has largely focused on AIG, but the tax would be applicable to bonuses paid by any company that received at least $5 billion in bailout aid.
“Their abusive behavior clearly demonstrates how out of touch they are with the rest of America,” Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said in a statement. “While hard working men and women are struggling with the current economic crisis, these greedy executives are rewarding themselves with unjustified compensation.”
Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of AIG told Congress Wednesday that he had asked bonus recipients to return the money.
“That’s fabulous,” Mr. McGovern said. “But we can’t rely on their good hearted generosity.”
He said the bill is necessary to ensure taxpayer money is retrieved.
Only six Democrats voted against the bill and the Republican vote was split nearly in half, with 85 voting in favor, 87 against.
“They’re hearing what we’re hearing,” Mr. McGovern said of his Republican colleagues. “Fix this problem. We don’t want this to happen again.”
####
Coast Guard Supports Bill That Would Crack Down on Illegal Fishing
Fishing
The New Bedford Standard-Times
Cristian Hernandez
Boston University Washington News Service
03/19/09
WASHINGTON—A bill that would help prevent depletion of dwindling stocks of fish by strengthening enforcement against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing was endorsed Thursday by an industry group and the Coast Guard, which would be charged with enforcing its provisions.
Their testimony came at a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing.
“Unsustainable fishing practices by foreign fishing fleets adversely affect stocks that migrate” between the high seas and U.S. waters, said Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo, D-Guam, who introduced the legislation last month.
Bordallo called fishermen taking part in illegal fishing “free riders who benefit unfairly from the sacrifices made by the U.S. fishermen and others for the sake of proper fisheries conservation and management.”
Fishermen in the United States are subject to multiple layers of regulation but foreign competitors are often not subject to the same rules, said Bordallo, who is chairwoman of the Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee that held the hearing on the bill.
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has an annual value of $10 billion, Bordallo said. More than 70 percent of global marine fish stocks are depleted or exploited, she said.
“For our business to remain economically viable, fishing activities must be sustainable,” said Stetson Tinkham, director of international affairs for the National Fisheries Institute, an industry trade group. “Science-based quotas for individual species or for species complexes must be established and those catch levels should not be exceeded. Catches must be recorded and reported. In short; fisherman should follow the rules,”
The legislation would allow U.S. officials to take actions against countries that don’t have strict regulations. Penalties for violation of the rules could lead to a ban on imports. The bill also would require that a list of vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities be kept and that appropriate action be taken against the vessels.
The legislation would strengthen the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a 30-year-old law that was updated in 2006. The act uses market-based incentives to replenish stocks and enforce fishing laws.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara said the Coast Guard was ready to take on the challenge and approved of the provisions in the bill to toughen enforcement. Currently the Coast Guard is largely responsible for enforcing fishing laws.
“In the face of an increasing need for food security and the increasing scarcity of marine resources,” she said, the Coast Guard is ready to work to preserve fish stocks around the world.
Bordallo said she hopes to get the bill to the House floor this spring.
####
As Outrage Grows, Congress Lashes AIG Chief Executive Over Bonus Debacle
BONUSES
Bangor Daily News
Drew FitzGerald
Boston University Washington News Service
March 18, 2009
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers expressed surprise and outrage Wednesday as they learned the details of $165 million in bonuses that troubled insurer American International Group paid some of its executives while accepting billions in government bailout money.
Recognizing surging public anger over the retention bonuses AIG paid its top employees – some of whom worked at the same troubled securities trading unit that drove the company to the brink of failure – House and Senate members offered strong rebukes and new legislation to help get back the taxpayer money used to pay the executives.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she will help resubmit a stronger version of legislation she and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sponsored last month to retrieve large bonuses issued by companies receiving government assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The revived proposal would tax the companies and possibly the individuals who refuse to give back the money.
Congressional Democrats in conference committee removed her amendment to the stimulus bill, replacing it with weaker language, Snowe said.
“It’s virtually a toothless provision, and ours was practically ironclad,” Snowe said in a later telephone interview. The negotiations were “all behind closed doors,” she said, “so it was very difficult to ascertain what was happening.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she voted against authorizing new bailout funds because of the lack of transparency in the first phase of funding.
“I am angry that the Treasury Department failed to exercise its authority to prohibit these bonuses in the first place,” Collins said in a statement. “As a condition of AIG receiving funds, the Treasury Department should have included a contractual requirement prohibiting the company from awarding these outrageous bonuses.”
AIG did not notify the Treasury Department about its latest retention bonuses until last week but did communicate the details to the Federal Reserve, according to testimony Edward Liddy, the CEO of AIG, offered Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.
Liddy apologized repeatedly for the payments, noting he joined AIG after the company signed off on the bonuses and could not rescind the compensation without breaking legal contracts. He did, however, surprise committee members by announcing that he had asked recipients to give back half of their bonuses, adding that some had voluntarily returned all their compensation.
But the CEO defended his decision to retain the employees who received the bonuses, saying their expertise was needed to manage the $1.6 trillion the company still owes.
“There’s still risk that that could blow up,” he said.
Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., threatened to subpoena AIG for the names of the executives who received the bonuses and said the government, which by bailing out AIG took an 80 percent stake in the company, might have the authority to rescind the bonuses.
Snowe said the government can and should retrieve taxpayer money from the companies, but said the Senate proposal “may be a better way to go about it to address the concerns of constitutionality.”
Snowe nevertheless criticized the heads of corporations like AIG and Merrill Lynch for their “dismissive” and “arrogant” attitude toward public opinion and Congress. She said to her knowledge the heads of those corporations never notified the Finance Committee they were dispensing bonuses after receiving government bailout funds.
“It’s a mindset and a culture on Wall Street,” she said. “They don’t understand it’s a new day.”
#####
Himes Says Government Should Go After All AIG Bonuses
AIGSIDEBAR
Norwalk Hour
Tait Militana
Boston University Washington News Service
03/18/09
WASHINGTON – American International Group’s request that employees voluntarily give back at least half of the $165 million in bonuses paid to them last week is not good enough, said U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, following testimony by the company’s chief executive at the Capitol Wednesday.
Edward Liddy, AIG’s embattled CEO, testified before the House Committee on Financial Services, of which Himes is a member. He said though the bonuses may have been “distasteful,” they were necessary to keep top employees onboard.
“I think he made a bad decision,” Himes said. “If AIG can’t figure out a way to get the money back, the government will.”
Himes said he recognized that the bonus contracts were developed by Liddy’s predecessors and applauded his willingness to testify. However, Himes said, government intervention, such as imposing a heavy tax on the bonus payments or deducting the amount from future bailout funds for AIG, should be a last resort. He said he would like to see the company hire lawyers to fight the contracts or persuade the employees that they have a moral obligation not to take the money.
“Given the severity of [the economic crisis], we just can’t tolerate these payments,” Himes said.
In a tense moment at the hearing, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the committee chairman, called on the panel to subpoena the names of the employees that received bonuses. Because of death threats to several AIG employees, Himes said, the request represents a security concern, though the public has a right to know.
Frank and Liddy pledged to continue negotiations.
###
Military Brass Answer to Congress on Suicides
SUICIDES
The New London Day
Katie Koch
Boston University Washington News Service
3/18/09
WASHINGTON—In response to what a senator called an “alarming” increase in the number of military suicides over the past year, several top military officials gathered to defend their efforts to prevent suicides before a Senate Armed Services subcommittee Wednesday.
“The numbers in every service have increased in the past two years, and that trend must not continue,” said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., the chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee.
“We know that more is needed, and it’s needed now,” Nelson said.
The hearing included testimony from military branches’ “number twos”: Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army; Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. James F. Amos, Marine Corps assistant commandant; and Gen. William M. Frazer III, vice chief of staff of the Air Force.
The group was quick to stress that realistic declines in the suicide rate would not occur until external pressures on the overburdened forces are relieved. They emphasized that active-duty deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, which has remained relatively steady over the past year, has an effect on the stress levels of all military personnel, not just soldiers stationed abroad.
“You could say it’s not entirely dependent on [combat-related] stress, because one-third of those [who committed suicide] don’t have any deployments at all; but I don’t buy that,” Chiarelli said.
“The reality is we are dealing with a tired and stretched force,” he said. “We must find some ways of relieving this stress.”
All the officers present agreed the military’s culture played a role in hindering their efforts’ success. The armed forces’ perceived attitude of “don’t ask, don’t tell” often extends to mental health problems and personal troubles, they said, preventing soldiers from seeking help.
“We must eliminate the perceived stigma and shame and dishonor of asking for help,” Walsh said.
The Army has taken the most criticism since it released its 2008 data on suicides Jan. 30. Those figures revealed that 140 active-duty soldiers committed suicide last year, an all-time high for the Army.
It also marked the first time the Army’s suicide rate—20.2 per 100,000 soldiers—surpassed the public’s, according to 2005 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent national figures available.
While the Navy’s 2008 suicide rate of 11.6 per 100,000 sailors was much lower than the Army’s, the Navy still faces a challenge in locating the root causes of the problem.
Unlike the Army, the Navy has found no correlation between serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and increased risk for committing suicide. Since 2003, veterans of the two wars accounted for only 3 percent of Navy suicides.
Maj. Gen. David A. Rubenstein, deputy surgeon general of the Army, underscored the difficulty targeting which soldiers could be at risk for suicide. Just hours before the hearing, he said, he learned that a former soldier who suffered a traumatic brain injury more than two years ago—and who had been a model patient since, even giving motivational speeches to groups of wounded veterans—had committed suicide Tuesday.
“This solder was treated, was compliant and was supported in every way,” Rubenstein said. “And yet, he’s dead today.”
###
As Outrage Grows, Demands in Congress Call for Full Refund of AIG Bonuses
NY AIG
WENY-TV
Lindsay Perna
Boston University Washington News Service
March 18, 2009
WASHINGTON – As public outrage grew this week, congressional leaders and government officials made demands for a refund of executive bonuses from the insurance giant American International Group Inc.
Trying to calm the quake on Capitol Hill, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that he plans to subtract the $165 million of executive bonus money from the final installment of $30 billion to AIG.
Edward Liddy, the chief executive of AIG, testified before a House subcommittee Wednesday telling the angry representatives that the executives have been asked to return the bonuses at least by half.
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), a defender of the federal piggy bank since he voted against the first bailout, said his fears came true when news broke about the bonuses.
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) removed an amendment from the stimulus bill when it went through the Senate that would have prevented the bonus debacle, according to Patrick Creighton, a spokesman for Thompson.
“They got money they shouldn’t have—they need to give it up,” Thompson said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Geithner’s punishment is nothing more than a slap on the wrist and an easy way out, said Creighton.
“I think this is sort of a warning sound,” Thompson said. “If you are going to come to the public trough for bailout we expect and we demand that if it is approved …that you better be prepared to be very transparent with how you are using this money.”
With his fellow freshmen Republicans in the House, Thompson co-sponsored legislation on Tuesday that would require the Department of the Treasury to get a full refund of AIG bonus money within the next two weeks and to approve any future bonus payments or contractual obligations.
Though Thompson’s proposal was not allowed to be introduced on the House floor, he said he is opposed to taxing the bonuses.
Some House members want to reach directly into the wallets of these executives and do just that.
Rep. Eric J.J. Massa (D-N.Y.), was one of 94 House members who co-sponsored a bill Monday that would recoup government money by taxing executive bonuses of more than $100,000 from companies that received TARP funds at a rate of 100 percent.
“I stand firm with the leaders in the House who want to see these bonuses recouped,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday, unsatisfied with the proposal by the secretary of the treasury to regain the cash in the next AIG installment.
“We should not be abandoning the goal of integrity,” Massa said. “We’ve been burned more times than we can remember—I can’t believe we want to go back to the well again.”
Massa said he appreciated Liddy’s request of the executives to return their million-dollar bonuses, but the congressman does not think the company will go through with a substantial return.
“No more money for Wall Street banks period,” Massa said.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) played the blame game on the Senate floor Tuesday when he said President Obama and Geithner failed American taxpayers.
“What is particularly troubling is that AIG’s intention to pay these bonuses had been no secret, and the administration was completely aware of these payments,” he said.
Schumer co-sponsored with Dodd a bill Tuesday that would identify and mend failing banks and return them to the private sector.
“Let's use the expertise and clean up rather than flooding these zombies with more dollars,” Schumer said.
The situation boggles his mind, he said.
“Well, Mr. Liddy, I urge you to fix this mess because, let me tell you something: We are all fed up,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “If you don't fix it, we will.”
“For those of you getting these bonuses, be forewarned: You will not be getting to keep them,” he said.
#####
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in D.C.: Green Ties and Green Fountains
St. Patrick’s Day
New Hampshire Union Leader
Aoife Connors
Boston University Washington News Service
March 17, 2009
WASHINGTON – On St. Patrick’s Day “we’re all Irish,” Rep Paul Hodes (D- N.H.) said Tuesday. “My wife’s nickname is Peggo,” Hodes said. “Pegg O’Hodes sounds very Irish, so I always say she is from the Irish side of the family.”
Celebrations marking St. Patrick’s Day were clearly visible in Washington Tuesday, and the White House water fountains on the north and south lawns were dyed green to mark the official Irish public holiday.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) marked the Irish saint’s day by wearing a green tie, promoting his Scottish-Irish roots. Hodes also sported a classy green tie with golden stars to mark the Irish day.
Hodes said in a telephone interview, “We are very lucky in New Hampshire to have a long tradition and great connection with the Irish.” The Shaskeen Irish pub in Manchester is a very popular loud and rousing spot on St. Patrick’s Day, Hodes said.
Hodes said he is a fan of the Irish stout. “I generally like half Guinness and half a good Irish ale.”
Barack Obama is another great Democratic president with strong Irish roots, Hodes said. “The surname is obviously of Irish origin, as in O’Bama.’ ”
The President extended an Irish “Cead Mile Failte” – one hundred thousand welcomes – to Irish Taoiseach (akin to prime minister) Brian Cowen and his wife, Mary. President Obama in his speech said “the bond between our countries could not be stronger.”
The two leaders quipped that their families had come from county Offaly in the Irish midlands. His great-great-great-grandfather came from Moneygall in county Offaly, Obama said, the same county that Cowen is from.
During the meeting between the two leaders, Cowen told the president there is an Irish saying, “Is Feidir Linn,” that means “yes, you can” before he presented the President with a Waterford crystal bowl of Irish shamrock. Obama said the shamrock represented OK? the deep and enduring bond between Americans and Irish.
Obama also announced Tuesday that Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney will be nominated as U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
Cowen was a special guest at the St. Patrick’s Day lunch hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Obama also attended the lunch after meeting with Cowen.
A traditional Irish lunch of smoked salmon, crab and avocado was served with a yellow pepper coulee. Also on the menu were lamb chops, fried potatoes, a fondue of vegetables and a shamrock cookie served for dessert with Ghirardelli chocolate praline mousse. Live traditional Irish music was performed by Liz Carroll and John Doyle.
Ireland is one of the most beautiful and miraculous countries, with some of the most extraordinary spots on earth, Hodes said. “It is a land of poetry and song with a tremendous spirit.”
####
Local Insurer: Fed Regulator No Answer to Outrage over AIG
INSURANCE
Norwalk Hour
Tait Militana
Boston University Washington News Service
3/17/09
WASHINGTON – Outrage over bonuses paid to executives at the American International Group spilled over at a Senate hearing on insurance regulation Tuesday, while industry leaders sought to install a federal regulator to prevent future systemic failures.
Following a weekend report that $165 million in bonuses had been paid from taxpayer money used to prop up the insurance giant AIG after its near collapse, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn, demanded answers from the Federal Reserve about how it tracks the federal rescue funds that have already gone to AIG and other financial industry recipients.
“The American people are outraged, and so am I,” Dodd said. “We also want answers regarding where the Fed has been on conditions for these types of bonuses since this rescue effort first began.”
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said AIG’s use of taxpayer money for bonuses is unacceptable and the company would be broke if the American people had not bailed it out.
“If this is the way Wall Street and AIG and all of the others continue to do business, we can’t help them with any amount of money,” Tester said. “This is ridiculous.”
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, of which Dodd is chairman, met with insurance leaders on how to modernize the insurance regulatory system.
In light of AIG’s near failure, several witnesses called for a federal regulator to oversee the insurance industry and help prevent collapses like the one AIG faced last year.
William Berkley, the CEO of W.R. Berkley Corp. in Greenwich, said the current system, in which each state independently regulates its own insurance market, lets too many companies like AIG slip through the cracks.
“The state-based insurance regulatory structure is inevitably fragmented and frequently not well-equipped to close the regulatory gaps that the current crisis has exposed,” Berkley said.
However, critics of a federal regulatory system say that AIG was an anomaly and cannot be considered for federal regulatory reform because it is too large and spans too many industries.
According to Dodd, there are nearly 4,000 insurance companies in the country. He said diverse international companies like AIG represent only a small percent of the industry.
“What happened at AIG should not, in my opinion, be confused with the industry with which it is most closely associated, the insurance industry," Dodd said.
Spencer Houldin, president of Ericson Insurance Advisors in Washington Depot, said at the hearing that insurance has been hurt less by the financial crisis than many other industries have. He said the industry is sound and major changes to the regulatory system are not needed.
“Unlike other financial services markets, the insurance market, particularly property-casualty, is stable and does not need risky indiscriminate change of its current regulatory system,” Houldin said.
According to Houldin, the problem with AIG was its overseas gambles with credit default swaps that a federal regulator would not be able to catch anyway.
“Federal regulation isn’t the panacea,” he said.
Dodd said the immediate issue is trying to get back the bonuses paid to AIG. He expressed disappointment that the restrictions on bonuses and other compensation under the Troubled Asset Relief Program do not apply to the money the Fed distributed to AIG.
“We wrote restrictions on executive compensation at the time, and the idea that this wouldn’t apply to money coming out of the Federal Reserve is a sore point, to put it mildly,” Dodd said.
###
Report Finds 1.5 Million Children Homeless in U.S.
HOMELESS
Bangor Daily News
Drew FitzGerald
Boston University Washington News Service
March 10, 2009
WASHINGTON – About one in 50 children in the United States is homeless, according to a report released Tuesday that says a weak economy could push that number even higher without quick government and community action.
The National Center on Family Homelessness, a Massachusetts nonprofit organization that studies and advocates solutions for youth homelessness, estimated more than 1.5 million children accompanied by a guardian go homeless each year, not counting the 575,000 to 1.6 million youth who sleep away from home because they are runaway or shut out..
The survey does not just count families in shelters or on the street. About half of homeless children are living in often crowded houses or apartments with relatives or family friends.
New England states ranked among the best in the nation for preventing and combating child homelessness, with Maine earning the ninth best rating. Texas scored the worst, largely because poverty levels in southern states are often double the rates in the North, said Dr. Ellen Bassuk, president of the center.
“It’s a very deep problem,” Bassuk said during a conference call with reporters. “There isn’t a place in the nation where a mom working full-time at minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom apartment.”
The wave of foreclosures hitting the United States this year gives added urgency to providing families with stable homes, the report said. Bassuk urged the federal government to boost funding for housing vouchers, emergency shelters and food stamps to head off an increase in the number of families shut out from their homes due to economic circumstances.
“You’ve got a pool of children here who are suffering much more and are much more at risk,” Gloria Guard, president of the Philadelphia-based People’s Emergency Center, said during the conference call. “It would make sense to target programs to these kids. And the worst part is they’re captive.”
The organization also urged states to make simple changes to their family housing policies, such as placing the newly homeless in rented houses rather than motels.
Maine was one of six states highlighted for its “extensive” state support of homeless families through its 10-year plan on homelessness.
Officials dealing with homelessness in Maine meet each month to ensure services are reaching all families that need them, said Shawn Yardley, director of Bangor’s Health and Community Services department. Still, he said the number of homeless families could be underreported among some of the families that stay in other people’s houses.
“While I think it’s good that people take care of their neighbors or relatives, I would not want people to have the false sense that those numbers are lower than they are,” Yardley said.
Helping homeless youth adjust to their new environments is critical, Yardley said. New schools can be as jarring as temporary housing, he said, and without school liaisons to help them, uprooted youths will continue to lag behind their peers.
“We all know the consequences of under-realized potential in young people,” he said.
###
