The Sept. 9 editorial "Making a bad situation worse" pointed out that a report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development identified 8.3 million "very low-income renters" who were eligible for but failed to receive federal housing assistance. The editorial further noted that the Trump administration's budget for 2018 proposes dramatic cuts in the Housing and Urban Development budget. HUD Secretary Ben Carson's approach to the government's housing deficiency is to propose a more "business-like approach." This is very reminiscent of Mr. Carson's frequent advocacy during his campaign for the presidency for less government, more self-reliance and more private activity to solve social problems.

The appropriate solution to the government's failure to meet housing needs is to replace the HUD secretary with a compassionate leader who would stand up to the president and his budget office and insist on adequate funding for urgent housing needs.

Isadore Seeman, Silver Spring