Burns urges Trump, McCormick to pare Johnstown public housing
Informs incoming president, senator that 1,504 units far exceed local need
Rep. Frank Burns December 3, 2024 | 10:54 AM
EBENSBURG, Dec. 3 – Appealing straight to the top, state Rep. Frank Burns has sought help from President-elect Donald Trump and Sen.-elect Dave McCormick to right-size the Johnstown Housing Authority by adjusting HUD’s bloated funding of the agency.
Burns, D-Cambria, issued separate letters to Trump and McCormick, detailing why federal funding of 1,504 public housing units is fiscally irresponsible, and is in fact proving detrimental to the community.
“It's estimated that HALF of the people living in Johnstown Housing Authority public housing came from outside Cambria County, primarily Philadelphia,” Burns emphasized. “HUD allows this gaming of the system to continue, creating a revolving door of poverty, crime and drain on local resources.
“Our county district attorney and Johnstown school superintendent have both noted its debilitating effects on Johnstown.”
Burns shared that the average household income of those relocating to Cambria County to take advantage of abundant public housing is $12,500.
Burns further noted that many of these public housing transients stay in Johnstown public housing just long enough to obtain a Section 8 Program voucher, which they then "port" back home, tapping the Johnstown Housing Authority's federal funds to foot the bill for their subsidized housing in Philadelphia and elsewhere. That tab has reached $1.8 million a year.
“I believe your commendable effort at curtailing excessive federal spending could start with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's bloated funding of the Johnstown Housing Authority at a level that far exceeds our locaI need for public housing.” – State Rep. Frank Burns, in a letter to President-elect Donald Trump.
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Burns urged Trump and McCormick to use the weight of their offices to correct the JHA’s public housing imbalance at the federal level, pointing out that 1,504 units are no longer justified by local need, as Johnstown’s 1960 population of 54,000 has plunged to under 18,000.
Soliciting their support for a “welcome and fiscally responsible change,” Burns wrote, “I have been outspoken in calling on the Johnstown Housing Authority and its primary funding source HUD to stop this madness, by right-sizing our public housing units to match our current need.”
Adding that Johnstown has five times the number of public housing units as other cities its size, and that 80 families per month (mainly from Philadelphia) are moving to Johnstown just to live in public housing, Burns wrote that he is “able and eager” to work with Trump and McCormick to address this matter, “which would greatly benefit our local community.”