After less than a year in office, the Bush Administration has already
paid more attention to the nation’s epidemic of homelessness than
President Reagan did in eight years. Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) Secretary Jack Kemp has met with advocates, visited homeless
shelters, and frequently decried what he has called the “national tragedy”
of homelessness.

But in that time we have seen very little in the way of government
action to address this mounting problem. Speeches and tours of shelters
must soon give way to commitments of resources and changes in policy.
The true test of the Bush Administration’s commitment to addressing the
tragedy of homelessness will be the kind of public policies and-level of
resources it devotes to the problem.