More than a quarter of a century ago, a California Congressman raised his voice in his committee and challenged the Congress and his country to act on behalf of the rising number of homeless people on the streets of our nation. For those of volunteering on the breadline at St. Anthony's Shrine in downtown Boston, Representative Ron Dellums' remarks were a welcome blessing.

We had seen the numbers grow on this first breadline in Boston since the Great Depression. Every month for two years, new faces arrived, complementing our "regular" customers.

We knew that rolled up sleeves and charitable resources mustered on the frontlines would not accomplish our abolitionist objective. And we wondered when the government, the Federal government, would do its part.

In Massachusetts the State had begun a response led by Secretary of Human Services Phil Johnston. And in Boston, our Mayor, Ray Flynn, was making the issue a central concern at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But Representative Dellums' focus was the first we had heard voiced in Washington.

Another seven years would go by before the Federal government would move beyond an emergency response to a collaborative, concerted effort. After much agitation and advocacy, led by a variety of voices in Washington, a sleep-out ("The Grate American Sleep-Out"), which included Congressman McKinney among others, including my Congressman at the time, Joe Kennedy, and the leadership of the Speaker of the House Jim Wright (pictured here), the Congress and the Administration moved a bill which was signed into law in the late evening twenty years ago today by President Ronald Reagan.

We are much beholden to those who concentrated our nation's attention on the human tragedy of homelessness. Mitch Snyder, Maria Foscarinis, Michael Stoops, Mary Ellen Hombs, and many others did what was necessary to constellate the political will to create what we now know as the McKinney-Vento Act. A Congressional initiative named after two Congressmen who understood the importance and necessity of a Federal response.

Now twenty years later the evolved McKinney-Vento Act remains central to the Federal response. Changes have come. A deeper financial commitment championed by every Secretary of HUD from Kemp to Cisneros to Cuomo to Martinez to Jackson.

Nearly every Federal agency now participates through resources focused on the lives of homeless people. Agencies not part of the original McKinney Act, such as the Social Security Administration and the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, have been recent additions to that commitment.

The recent evolution of 10-Year Plans framed around business principles, housing and consumer-centric, with a focus on performance and results has begin to capture the promise of the McKinney Act. Recent reductions in street and long-term homelessness in cities across the country have been precipitated by the investment of new resources in innovative ideas. Just as the original Federal initiatives were a response to the failed policy of deinstitutionalization, recent initiatives have focused resources on remedying other policy shortcomings.

There is much more to do. We all know that. But current efforts are demonstrating movement driven by moral and spiritual concerns that we've had for the past 25 years, now supplemented by economic concerns framed around cost benefit analysis.

That evolution is the spirit of McKinney-Vento. Not to look back with nostalgia, but to understand anew what drives political will in our nation to remedy homelessness. Harkening back to the old arguments and the old strategies may indeed be heartwarming, but the old status quo did not get the job done. Jurisdictional political will, coupled with business planning and innovative investing for results, is demonstrating promise. The promise of reduced homelessness and the abolition of this national scandal. Ultimately that is the promise and the intent of McKinney-Vento.

The Stewart McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, introduced in January 1987, was passed by each house and sent to conference and on to the White House in early July. With President Reagan's signature on July 22, the ambitious agenda of January to achieve Federal presence through new resources was complete. Additionally, though the programs were new, appropriations were made for their first year after passage. The authorized spending level for the two years of 1987-88 was $1.03 billion, with an appropriation for the two years of $738.25 million (GAO, 1990).

The McKinney Act authorized twenty programs within the authority of the United States Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Veterans Affairs, General Services Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the new Interagency Council.

Stewart B. McKinney represented the Fourth Congressional District of Connecticut as a Republican in the House of Representatives from 1971 until his death in 1987. The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness expresses its gratitude to Mrs. Stewart McKinney and the Stewart B. McKinney Foundation for lending the image displayed with this story. It depicts many of the issues important to Representative McKinney.

In 1970, McKinney ran for the U.S. House and won. In the 100th Congress, McKinney served on the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; the Small Business Committee; and the District of Columbia Committee. He served as the ranking minority member of the Housing and Community Development subcommittee of the Banking Committee, and also served on both the Economic Stabilization and the Financial Institutions Supervision, Regulation and Insurance Subcommittees.

His ongoing concern for those who were homeless brought him a leadership role when H.R. 558 was drafted and introduced. During efforts at Congressional passage, Representative McKinney joined advocates, providers, consumers, and other officials in sleeping outside the Capitol to advocate for passage. As a result of the pneumonia he contracted then, Representative McKinney died in May 1987. When H.R. 558 passed, it was re-named in his honor.

Representative McKinney was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved to Connecticut in high school and remained there for the rest of his life.After attending Princeton University from 1949 to 1951, he dropped out and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he attained the rank of sergeant. After leaving the Air Force in 1955, he went back to college, receiving a B.A. from Yale University in 1958. In 1966, Stewart McKinney was elected as a Republican to the Connecticut State House of Representatives, where he served two 2-year terms, including as minority leader in his second term (1969- 1970).

Bruce F. Vento was elected in 1977 by the Fourth District of Minnesota to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Democrat Farm Labor Party. Bruce Vento worked alongside Stewart B. McKinney and was co-author of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, which created federal funding for support services, transitional housing, and emergency shelter grants. Representative Vento is pictured here.

Rep. Vento, whose concern for those who were homeless was ongoing through his tenure, was a champion of the Congressional legislation. After being diagnosed with lung cancer, brought on by asbestos exposure during his early work as a laborer, Congressman Vento decided not to seek another term. His name was added to the McKinney Act in 2000, the year he died.

Previously elected to the Minnesota State Legislature in 1970, Vento had served three consecutive terms. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and educated at Thomas College, Wisconsin State University, and the University of Minnesota.

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness was the new Federal agency first created by the McKinney Act in 1987 to coordinate the activities of the Federal agencies. Following a six year dormancy, the Council was revitalized by the Bush Administration in 2002. The inaugural meeting of the revitalized Council in the White House on July 22, 2002 commemorated the 15th anniversary of the McKinney- Vento legislation and recommitted the federal government to the resolution of homelessness. Following are key provisions of the original law concerning its work.

Title II of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act created the Interagency Council on the Homeless as an independent establishment within the executive branch.

Specifically, the McKinney Act requires the Council to review all Federal activities and programs to assist homeless individuals; reduce duplication of effort between Federal agencies' homeless assistance programs; monitor, evaluate, and recommend improvements in these programs; provide technical assistance to states, local governments, and other private and nonprofit organizations; collect and disseminate information relating to homelessness; prepare bimonthly bulletins describing resources available to the states and other providers as well as application deadlines for the various Federal programs; and prepare an annual report.

The original membership on the Council consisted of the heads, or their designees, of 11 Cabinet departments; FEMA, ACTION, GSA, and the Postal Service; plus heads of other Federal entities as determined by the Council. Today 20 agencies make up the membership of the Council , whose leadership in the Chair and Vice Chair rotates among the Secretaries of the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban development, Labor, and Veterans Affairs. HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt currently chairs the Council.

Following are excerpts from the Presidential Signing and Budget Statements of the original passage of the McKinney Act and its subsequent amendments. Together they also provide a view into the evolution of the Federal programs over time.

President Ronald Reagan Statement on Signing the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
(H.R. 558, approved July 22, was assigned Public Law No. 100-77.
July 22, 1987

I have signed H.R. 558, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act . . . It is my intention that charitable organizations, including those with religious affiliation, should continue to play a vital role in the delivery of services contemplated in this legislation.

President Ronald Reagan Statement on Signing the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988
November 7, 1988

I have today signed H.R. 4352, an Act "to amend the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend programs providing urgently needed assistance for the homeless, and for other purposes." The legislation authorizes appropriations of $633.8 million for Fiscal Year 1989 and $675.8 million for Fiscal Year 1990 for programs to assist homeless Americans. It ensures that the Federal Government, directly and through cooperative efforts with State and local governments and the private sector, can address effectively the plight of those who do not have shelter . .

Those provisions in this Act that purport to require the heads of departments and agencies to submit legislation or recommendations to the Congress must be implemented in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority and duty of the President to recommend to the Congress from time to time "such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Also, ensuring orderly and effective representation of the interests of the United States in the courts will require implementation of section 1045 of the Act, which relates to legal representation for the Secretary of Agriculture, in a manner consistent with the authorities and duties of the Attorney General.

President George H. W. Bush Statement on Signing the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990
(H.R. 3789, approved November 29, was assigned Public Law No. 101 - 645)
November 29, 1990

It is with great pleasure that I have today signed H.R. 3789, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990. Congress first enacted the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act in 1987, and the act signed today will reauthorize a broad array of programs to assist the homeless, amend current programs, and authorize certain new programs to address the continuing needs of homeless, especially the mentally ill and substance abusers.

Since 1987 the McKinney Act has provided over $2 billion for programs to assist the homeless. H.R. 3789 will authorize the new Shelter Plus Care Program, an administration proposal, which will help link rental housing assistance to other supportive services for the homeless.

Under the provisions of H.R. 3789, the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to establish a Family Support Centers demonstration program that will provide a number of health and related services for low-income individuals who were previously homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. The act also authorizes additional grants to the States that would be focused on those who are currently homeless and suffer from both substance abuse and mental illness.

President Bill Clinton Statement on Signing Legislation To Rename the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
October 30, 2000

Today, I am very pleased to sign into law H.R. 5417, which would rename the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, the "McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance."

I am deeply saddened by Representative Vento's recent passing. Representative Vento was a great friend of the poor and the homeless. His leadership on the issue of homelessness will be greatly missed in Minnesota and across the Nation.

Representative Vento was a key leader in the effort to secure the original passage in 1987 of the McKinney Act, the first and still the most significant Federal program to assist homeless persons. His commitment to those left behind did not end with the passage of the homeless assistance bill. For over a decade he remained a leading voice for social justice on Capitol Hill, introducing legislation to expand and improve services to homeless people, and continually reminding his colleagues and the American people of our responsibility to our most vulnerable neighbors. Representative Vento was also a passionate advocate for affordable housing and protecting our Nation's natural resources.

President George W. Bush and the Federal Commitment to End Chronic Homelessness

The President's FY 2003 Budget released in early 2002 headlined a new "top objective" to end chronic homelessness, creating the basis for new policy and budget direction at the Federal level and in the National Partnership across the nation.

The President's FY 2007 Budget noted that "[through] efforts of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Administration's initiative to end chronic homelessness has gained traction in communities large and small across the country."

The following is a brief overview of other federal response to the growing national issue of homelessness prior to the McKinney Act.

In 1980, then House Committee on the District of Columbia Chair Ron Dellums, now Mayor of Oakland, California, convened the Committee for the first contemporary Congressional hearing to focus on homelessness, with specific attention to the District of Columbia. Mayor Dellums is pictured here.

According to a history by the Government Accountability Office, in December 1982, the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs under the leadership of Chair Henry Gonzalez held the first major hearing to examine the appropriate role for the Federal government to assist homeless individuals and explored the efforts at the state and local level. Advocates on behalf of the homeless, representatives of private voluntary organizations providing food and shelter, and state and local officials expressed strong support for greater Federal involvement.

Shortly thereafter, the Congress enacted the Emergency Jobs Appropriation Act (P.L. 98-8). This law provided additional funds to public works and income transfer programs such as the Women, Infants, and Children's Supplemental Nutrition Program and unemployment insurance assistance. It also created an emergency shelter program, appropriating $60 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to distribute to public and private organizations providing emergency food and shelter.

Continuing these Federal efforts, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in February 1983, announced its intention of "expediting the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)" funds to meet needs as identified by local communities. This resulted in efforts to notify CDBG grantees about the possible uses of this money for such things as acquiring and rehabilitating buildings to be used as shelters.

In October 1983, an interagency task force was created in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to cut red tape and act as a "broker" between the Federal government and the private sector for making available Federal facilities that might be used for homeless assistance.

In October 1986, the Congress adopted the Homeless Housing Act of Beyond Emergency 1986 (Conference Report H.R. 5313, enacted by section 101(g) of P.L. 99-591). The act provided $15 million to HUD to be distributed between an emergency shelter grant program and a program to fund demonstration projects to provide transitional housing for homeless persons. In addition to providing Federal funds for more permanent shelter, the Congress sought to assist through the modification of existing laws to allow homeless persons easier access to existing Federal entitlement programs.

Although by 1987 Congressional actions had expanded the Federal role to assist the homeless through various agency programs, many believed that a more comprehensive effort was needed. Thus, when the 100th Congress convened in January 1987, legislative proposals to expand assistance were among the first items on the agenda.

H.R.558, The Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act, a bill to provide urgently needed assistance to protect and improve the lives and safety of the homeless, with special emphasis on families and children, was introduced on January 8, 1987 by Representative Thomas Foley (WA). Representative Foley is pictured here; there were 110 bipartisan co-sponsors, including current House Financial Services Committee Chair Representative Barney Frank, along with Representatives McKinney and Vento.

Thanks to everyone who shared images for this issue.

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