Late yesterday, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) issued the following statement after the Republican majority on the House Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Committee removed community project funding in support of LGBTQ organizations from Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill.
Among the projects stripped from the bill were $2 million sought by Congresswoman Pressley for The Pryde, an affordable senior housing project in Hyde Park, Boston.
“Day in and day out, Republicans demonstrate the contempt they have for the most vulnerable people in America, and their stripping critical housing funding for senior members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Massachusetts 7th is the latest example of that.
“Let’s be clear: The Pryde – a senior citizen housing project – meets the committee’s stated requirements for Community Project Funding guidance and would meet a critical need in the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District. It is unconscionable that Republican committee members would hold senior citizen-specific housing hostage and continue their dangerous national trend of targeting the LGBTQ+ community. This process is intended for our communities to advocate for projects that have the highest impact, and this move by Republicans is blatant homophobia designed to attack some of our most vulnerable seniors.
“To our LGBTQ+ siblings, know you are seen and loved, and I won’t stop fighting to get this funding over the finish line and advance the critical investments you need not only to survive but to thrive.”
The $2 million requested by Rep. Pressley would support the construction costs of converting a former Boston Public School building into 74 units of high-quality, service-enriched affordable housing for seniors in Boston. The project will also include 10,000 square feet of community space and help close the gap between the capital funding secured at the launch of this project and the increasing cost to complete it.
— from the Ayanna Pressley Press Office
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