LA Homelessness Funding Under Scrutiny | US News

0:00It's September 8th. You're listening to US News today, AI-powered national coverage. So, there's this congressional committee, right? They're looking into how Los Angeles is spending money to tackle homelessness. Specifically, they're asking if federal funds, which amount to over $1 billion since 2021, are actually getting to the people. Who need it and if there are proper checks against misuse? They want to mayor Karen Bass to show up and testify, but her team said she's unavailable for the hearing scheduled for September 15th. The mayor's office is cooperating, though. They're gathering all the records the committee asked for, which go all the way back to January of 2020. They expect to hand that over by September 14th, but they did mention it might take a minute to pull all that historical data together. They also pointed out that the authority handling these funds is in solely a city operation. It's got a point ease from both the city and the county. Now, there's a bit of a back and forth on the numbers. The committee chairman seems to think homelessness has gotten worse under bass, but her office is pushing back, saying street homelessness has.

1:05Actually dropped 11% since 2023, crediting programs like Inside Safe. However, the latest official count from July shows a slight increase in overall homelessness in the city, up 3.4%, and a similar. Bump countywide, digging a little deeper, while overall numbers are up, slightly unsheltered homelessness in the city saw a bigger jump of 7.9%. The agency that tracks this blames a slowdown in rental assistance for fewer people moving into permanent housing, which then impacts the availability. Of temporary bids, placements in permanent housing have actually decreased from 2024 to 2025. This whole situation is also happening alongside a federal funding issue. The Department of Housing and Urban Development paused some funding back in June due to concerns about financial management, though a judge later put. A temporary hold on those cuts. The committee is still planning to hold its hearing on September 15th, even without the mayor present, and will be reviewing the documents her.

2:07Office provides.