Massachusetts Kills Plan to Prioritize Homeless Veterans Over Migrants
Published Apr 29, 2024 at 11:37 AM EDT
All but two Massachusetts House Democrats voted against an amendment to provide statewide shelter priority to U.S. military veterans over migrants.
On Friday, all 25 Massachusetts state House Republicans were joined by two others across the aisle in voting for Amendment 698 as part of House Bill 4600. The amendment introduced by Republican Minority Leader Bradley Jones, titled "Homeless Veterans Prioritization for Shelter Assistance," failed on a 27-129 roll call vote.
"It's extremely disappointing that most Democrats were unwilling to support an amendment to prioritize eligibility for the state's emergency housing assistance program for honorably discharged homeless veterans," Jones told Newsweek via email on Monday.
The vote occurred one day after a supplemental budget was sent to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, who in October said that her state lacks the space, services and funding to safely expand beyond providing shelter for 7,500 families—of which that quota was nearly reached prior to Halloween amid a migrant surge to the Bay State. Massachusetts is spending about $75 million each month on state-run shelters, according to The Boston Globe, after Healey declared a state of emergency last summer.
https://www.newsweek.com/massachusetts-migrants-shelters-veterans-amendment-1895141?piano_t=1
