Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement on voting against Dr. Ben Carson for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development late this week:

“At a time when so many families in Washington state are struggling with the rapidly rising costs of housing, I believe Dr. Ben Carson is the wrong choice to lead the agency that directly affects them — and I will be voting no on his nomination.

“HUD is often the last line of defense in our country when it comes to combatting homelessness and promoting affordability, and I am deeply concerned that Dr. Carson’s past comments run counter to the department’s essential functions.

“As I continue to fight to help make sure the federal government is a partner to communities in Washington state and around the country to address housing affordability, I am concerned Dr. Carson does not have a strong commitment to the very federal programs he would oversee, nor the management experience to provide the strong leadership that is needed.”

Sen. Murray’s office noted she has been a long-time champion for HUD programs like McKinney Vento, Section 8 vouchers, and HUD-VASH that work to get people into safe, appropriate housing, and she has also worked to help ensure these programs receive critical federal support.

In 2008, Murray helped restart the HUD-VASH program and has continued to help fund it every year since.

More than 79,000 vouchers have been awarded and over 111,000 homeless veterans have been served through HUD-VASH since its restart in 2008.