Media

There are myriad agencies, committees, and task forces in the federal government that focus on an aspect of housing. From major institutions like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, there are a lot of distinguished people who spend at least a portion of their professional lives thinking about housing.

The White House is proposing cutting a quarter of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's budget. According to Reuters, the administration is targeting pollution and climate change programs. The current proposal aims to reduce the EPA budget by 25 percent and staffing by 20 percent. The new budget would cut funding for Native American energy efficiency initiatives as well as State grants for lead cleanup. Before implementation the budget will have to be approved by Congress.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s funding for restoring Puget Sound would be almost wiped out under President Donald Trump’s proposed agency budget, according to a leaked memorandum documenting the cuts obtained by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. An EPA spokesman in Seattle on Friday declined to comment on the proposed budget cuts.

President Donald Trump will hold his first joint session address to Congress on Tuesday and every member is able to bring a guest to sit in the gallery. Oftentimes, those invited are a part of what is driving the news of the day. Judging by those invited, Democrats are packing the house with immigrant success stories and those affected by the new president’s policies. They’re also inviting a number of people they say benefited from the 2010 health reform law, which Trump and Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace.