By Marie Muvlenna

An official of the U.S. Catholic Conference, the National Conference of Catholic Charities as well as an inter-religious coalition of Jewish, Protestant and Catholic groups, have all taken strong stands protesting the Nixon administration’s cutback on low-cost housing as well as proposed cutbacks in programs specifically designed to combat serious social problems.

The National Conference of Catholic Charities (NCCC) commission on housing took sharp exception to the cutback in housing, terming it “an indication of the lack of concern of the administration for the housing needs of the poor and near poor.” The group, which is the chief coordinating agency for Catholic Charities social welfare programs throughout the nation, blasted the recent governmental action in a policy statement saying “the principal victims of this action are the thousands of poor and near poor who for many reasons must rely on subsidized housing for a decent place to live.”

In January, George Romney, outgoing secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an indefinite moratorium on federally subsidized housing units not already in process and the Farmers’ Home Administration then followed suite with an 18 month moratorium on rural housing programs involving subsidy.

The NCCC rapped the administration’s action as “precipitous and unilateral,” claiming it will also have an adverse effect on the nation’s economy and unemployment picture.

John Cosgrove, director of the Urban Affairs Division of the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC), said proposed cutbacks in programs “all appear to trace a pattern of ‘benign neglect’ of millions of Americans.” Cosgrove referred as well to cuts in old-age assistance and aid to dependent children, terming them of “the greatest urgency” and stating that “a way must be found to increase rather than decrease their (older Americans) income.”

Citing the proposed reduction of welfare assistance, elimination of certain other services, and the combination of still other programs, Cosgrove stated “we would also strongly urge reconsideration of the proposed policies that would combine planning programs for economic, public facilities and overall community development programs.” Cosgrove said a proposal to permit states to deny welfare benefits to children of strikers “has never been the intent of Congress nor has it been upheld by the courts. The criterion for welfare, particularly for children, should be simply one of whether there is need.”

Proposals for freezes would effect community and regional health programs, welfare aid, aid to dependent children, elimination of the Community Relations Service, combining of the Economic Development Administration and HUD programs which are designed to help orderly planning of communities and public facilities improvements, as well as the halt on subsidies for low and moderate housing. Cosgrove called on the Nixon administration for “more action and less reorganizing.”

The Inter-religious Coalition for Housing, composed of representatives of all denominations, has called upon President Nixon to end the housing moratorium, terming the moratorium an action that will hurt poor and middle income families and cause damage to the construction industry. The coalition has also asked the Congress to delay confirmation of key administration positions if the president does not show “a genuine interest in honoring commitments to housing for the poor and aged.” The coalition is seeking congressional open hearings on housing needs, stating that the administration’s new moratorium will merely “ask the poor to wait 18 months while it seeks to come up with new answers.” The group contends that the Nixon administration had four years to develop workable housing programs as alternatives to existing ones. “In the meantime the poor must continue to wait and suffer.”

In 1972, about 340,000 units were produced under the subsidies not affected by the administration cutback. HUD secretary George Romney indicated the moratorium would not halt 250,000 units which had been earlier approved, but a spokesman for the Inter-religious Coalition termed this “far short of the annual goal of 600,000 units per year in order to reach the 10-year needs of six million units of low-moderate income housing.”

The NCCC commission stated that 12,000 housing units had been sponsored under subsidy programs by Catholic church-related groups between 1969 and 1971. Another 8,140 were under construction or in planning stages at the end of 1971. An NCCC spokesman said the present figures are probably higher because “Church involvement in this area has been increasing steadily.”