President’s Approval Uncertain : House Sends $50-Million Homeless Bill to Reagan

The House on Wednesday approved and sent to President Reagan legislation that would provide $50 million in emergency funds for the homeless.

Although House Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said the funds are urgently needed during “an extremely harsh winter,” it was unclear whether any of the money would reach the homeless before spring. The government has thus far managed to spend only $3 million of the $70 million that Congress appropriated for emergency food and shelter several months ago.

Wednesday marked the second time that the House has approved the bill. It had passed the measure last week on a 296-79 vote, but the Senate had added amendments--including a controversial one aimed at blocking congressional pay raises--to the legislation last week before approving it, 77 to 6.

Approves Senate Version

Rather than delay the bill in a conference committee, the House approved the Senate version on a voice vote.

It is not yet clear whether Reagan will sign the bill into law. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has expressed reservations about some of its provisions, including transfer of the funds from the disaster relief operations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the agency’s emergency food and shelter program.

Meanwhile, a House subcommittee began work on a broader bill that would provide $500 million in longer-range aid to the homeless. The House Banking subcommittee on housing and community development is expected to vote on the measure next week.

Wright’s Testimony

In testimony before the subcommittee, House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) described what has become a common sight on urban streets.

“What appears at first glance to be a shapeless lump of cloth and cardboard” turns out to be “another human being . . . homeless, with no place to lay his head,” said Wright, who has made the legislation a top priority.

“If we cannot provide for our own, surely we can make no pretense of being a leader for the world,” he added.

New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo added: “We have an obligation, as a society, as a people, to our desperate brothers and sisters.”

The longer-range legislation would spend $70 million on food and shelter, with the remainder of the $500 million to go to housing construction and health care.