Mayor Karen Bass and a delegation of six City Council members put a “fix in motion” Tuesday after learning Los Angeles is at risk of losing more than $100 million in Veteran Affairs benefits — as part of the group’s second day of meetings to advocate for additional resources for the city.
During a meeting with Secretary Denis McDonough of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he informed city leaders that Congress wants to “claw back” money to balance the federal budget, but a “legislative fix could save it,” Bass told KNX News.
“In addition, we learned that many cities have not utilized their (housing) vouchers. So, needless to say, I wanted to be the first in line to make sure that L.A. gets any unused vouchers that other cities don’t need,” Bass said.
“…I’ll tell you why. There isn’t any city around that is dealing with the numbers (of homelessness) that we’re dealing with,” Bass added.
The city delegation — including Council President Paul Krekorian and council members Bob Blumenfield, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Traci Park and Hugo Soto-Martinez — is in Washington to meet with White House officials and members of California’s congressional delegation.
Krekorian told City News Service Tuesday afternoon that it’s been “another busy day for us.” He said city leaders had “detailed conversations” with McDonough and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge.
Los Angeles has a quarter of a million veterans and too many of them are living on the streets, Krekorian said. The talks with McDonough served as an opportunity to speak in depth about how to best provide job opportunities, housing and other services for veterans, he added.
“With regard to HUD, we had discussions about hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding related to housing the unhoused and providing greater affordability,” Krekorian said.
He noted both department heads were “well versed” in the issues the city faces, adding they also had a lot to share.
“We learned about opportunities for funding and policy changes that we can utilize in Los Angeles,” Krekorian said.
The council president reiterated it’s important for the delegation to be there, advocating on behalf of the city, because “nature abhors a vacuum, and so does Washington.”
“If you are not here, and if you’re not advocating for the people of Los Angeles, then somebody else will be here advocating for the people of other cities. So in order to make sure that Los Angeles is treated fairly and equitably, it’s important that the leaders of our city be here to have those face-to-face discussions,” Krekorian said.
Soto-Martinez noted Bass’ relationships with leaders in Washington, D.C., are “shining through.”
“Oftentimes when you meet folks, you have to build relationships and get to know them — but in every single meeting we’ve been at people know her (Bass). She has a ton of credibility, and so we’re going (straight) into the needs of Angelenos,” Soto-Martinez said.
The councilman said while the mayor’s relationships have been helpful during their trip, the meetings mark the “beginning of building those relationships” themselves. He added, “(It) very much feels like many of the council members here will have a direct line to HUD.”
Hutt highlighted the meeing with McDonough, saying it was “very positive.” Hutt said they discussed housing vouchers for veterans and other programs available to them.
“I intend to bring some of these resources back to my district for our vulnerable members that served as veterans,” Hutt said. “We’ll be able to share some information and resources that they can use right in Los Angeles at the local VA or if they use a Veteran Service Organization, or CalVet.”
Hutt, who represents the 10th District, encompassing parts of central and south Los Angeles, said she’s grateful for their Monday meeting with Gregory Jackson and Robert Wilcox, special assistants to the president and deputy directors of the Office of Gun Violence.
“As many people know, two of my three sons were shot. One of them still has a bullet in him. He’s paralyzed from the knee to his foot,” Hutt said. “So, understanding that this administration is putting in an investment in gun violence prevention is really important to me.”
The delegation also met and will continue to meet with California representatives and senators.
Krekorian said the group met with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, who is a former city councilman and council president.
“He is a very strong advocate for us,” Krekorian said. “We know that he will be fighting for all the issues that we’ve raised.”
The delegation will continue its meetings through Wednesday. According to a representative from Bass’ office, some council members will leave that night and others the following morning.
Bass and council members have been staying at a hotel near the White House, and will return to L.A. just as they arrived — traveling on economy tickets, according to Bass’ office. The funds for the trip came from their respective offices.
As a result of the trip, the City Council canceled its regularly scheduled meetings for Tuesday and Wednesday. The council will resume meetings on Friday, according to Krekorian’s office.