Shutdown freezes health projects for seniors as HUD chief blasts ‘Left’s healthcare hypocrisy’
FIRST ON FOX: The government shutdown has put financing for healthcare projects on ice across the country, affecting an estimated 12,800 beds at facilities serving vulnerable senior citizens, according to...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: The government shutdown has put financing for healthcare projects on ice across the country, affecting an estimated 12,800 beds at facilities serving vulnerable senior citizens, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). "This shutdown is a case study in the Left’s healthcare hypocrisy," HUD chief Scott Turner told Fox Digital Friday. "While they fight for free healthcare for illegal aliens, they are delaying HUD’s financing for critical care facilities for America’s seniors. It’s time to stop playing politics and get these projects moving again." The government shutdown began Oct. 1, when Senate lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement. There is currently no end in sight, with President Donald Trump championing Republicans to hit the "nuclear option" and end the filibuster as Democrats continue voting against reopening the government. At the heart of the shutdown is a debate on healthcare. Trump and Republicans have pinned shutdown blame on Democrats for working to include healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants in the package. Democrats have denied the claims, and instead argue the government is shutdown due to Republicans allegedly failing to negotiate healthcare demands. TRUMP RETURNS TO DC AS DIM OUTLOOK LINGERS, NO END IN SIGHT FOR SHUTDOWN Amid a Capitol Hill debate on healthcare policy, senior citizens nationwide are feeling the real-life affects of the shutdown, according to data provided to Fox Digital by HUD. HUD found that the shutdown has resulted in a handful of health projects backed by HUD or the Federal Housing Administration being halted across 32 states, affecting roughly 12,800 beds at health facilities that overwhelmingly serve senior citizens on Medicare. HUD provided Fox News Digital with a breakdown of states most impacted by the shutdown as it relates to healthcare resources, finding health projects in Nevada, Maryland and Georgia have most notably been affected. The projects overwhelmingly ser…