“After months of bluster, threats and feigned concern from Trump and Secretary [Ben] Carson for the country’s increased homelessness, they propose flat funding for homeless assistance grants,” Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said in an email.

While the budget would not increase homelessness funding over current enacted levels, HUD officials pointed out that federal funding has increased in recent years and faulted cities for failing to stop a spike in people sleeping on the streets.

“Over the past four years our federal funding to reduce homelessness has grown by over $200 million, reducing homelessness in most of the country, while the problem has grown in cities that have not focused on reducing local barriers to creating affordable housing,” HUD spokesperson Brad Bishop said.

The statement echoed the position Trump took in a January tweet, in which he wrote: "The homeless situation in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and many other Democrat Party run cities throughout the Nation is a state and local problem, not a federal problem...."

The homeless situation in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and many other Democrat Party run cities throughout the Nation is a state and local problem, not a federal problem.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2020

He said the federal government would be willing to help if "the city or state in question is willing to acknowledge responsibility, and politely asks for help."

Still, Trump administration officials have been in talks with LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger about a potential deal to supplement a local plan to shelter the homeless with federal funding and land.

Trump has called for dramatic cuts to HUD’s budget every year since taking office only to be rebuffed by lawmakers of both parties, who have opted instead to boost the department's funding.

For fiscal 2021, the administration is again recommending the elimination of two popular programs, Community Development Block Grants and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

The budget also calls for the adoption of a legislative proposal the administration floated in 2018 to overhaul rental assistance, in part by raising recipients’ rent contribution from 30 percent to 35 percent of their monthly income. That proposal has also gone nowhere on Capitol Hill.

“The President’s budget proposal provides HUD with the resources to serve America’s most vulnerable populations in an efficient and compassionate manner,” Carson said in a statement. “We must remember, compassion is not always how many people we can get on a government program, but rather how many people we can help graduate out of a program and into financial independence. The road to self-sufficiency is one that is sure to improve the lives of all Americans.”

The White House said the budget eliminates wasteful programs that have failed to demonstrate effectiveness, citing the block grant program, among others.

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Yentel slammed the administration's proposals.

“At a time when America’s housing crisis has reached historic heights with the lowest income people suffering the most severe impacts, proposals to further cut these vital resources are unconscionable and unacceptable,” Yentel said.

The blueprint would, however, boost funding for the identification and abatement of environmental hazards in public housing by $70 million, or 24 percent, over current levels. HUD's Carson, a former pediatric neurosurgeon, speaks often of his interest in lead paint abatement.

The hazards office funding includes $5 million for radon testing and mitigation. A bipartisan group of lawmakers last month requested additional radon mitigation funding after an investigation by the Oregonian newspaper found that the department repeatedly failed to test for the odorless gas in subsidized units.