In a move that has enraged Democrats and LGBTQ+ leaders, a group of House Republicans voted Tuesday to strip federal funding from three LGBTQ+ community projects, two of which are for organizations based in Pennsylvania. The earmarks, totaling more than $3.6 million, were slated to go to William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia and LGBT Center of Greater Reading. The third project involved providing affordable housing for LGBTQ+ seniors in Massachusetts.
Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, filed an en bloc amendment to remove the three Community Project Funding (CPF) submissions from the 2024 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill. The vote to remove the three LGBTQ+-centric projects, out of thousands of CPF projects, passed 32-26.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania, requested $1,800,000 in funding for William Way, which would have gone toward expanding the organization’s headquarters at 13th and Spruce streets. Expansion initiatives include improved accessibility, expanded rental and event space, a new cafe and catering kitchen, and more robust spaces for William Way’s Arcila-Adams Trans Resource Center and recovery programs.
“The William Way Center clearly qualifies for Community Project Funding based on the merits,” Boyle said in a statement. “The only reason why it is now being targeted to lose these dollars is because of disgusting and ugly bigotry. I condemn those House Republicans for voting to strip away funding for the William Way Center. It is disturbing that House Republicans have chosen this dark path. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is wrong.”
Chris Bartlett, executive director of William Way, firmly stated that as far as he’s concerned, the removal of William Way from the Appropriations bill is not set in stone.
“We’re working with Congressman Boyle and Sens. [Bob] Casey and [John] Fetterman to see what can be done both on the Senate Side and in the Conference Committee,” Bartlett said. “We know our senators and Congressman Boyle will fight to the end, as well as the other members of the [Pennsylvania] delegation, to secure this funding. We’re doing everything we can to work with our congressional delegation and to have conversations to make sure that we can right this wrong.”
The other two CPF projects include Chrissy Houlahan’s (D-Penn.) request for funding for a transitional housing program at the LGBT Center of Greater Reading, and a submission from Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) requesting funding for LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc. to convert a bygone public school building in Boston into affordable housing units for seniors.
“Our project was submitted with the intention of providing critical services for the LGBTQ+ community right here in Berks County,” reads a post on the LGBT Center of Greater Reading’s Facebook page. “The Committee has pulled our project from consideration simply because of who we are and who we serve…We are outraged to learn of this blatant act of discrimination targeting not only our organization, but the entire community. It poses significant challenges to our community’s values of equity and fairness while perpetuating division and inequality.”
Bartlett added that William Way and the LGBT Center of Greater Reading have a close relationship, and at the crux of the issue are the services that the two centers provide, which include support services, programs for seniors and trans folks, wellness services, LGBTQ+ culture and more.
“This is really about the services that are provided within the walls of the Philadelphia and Reading centers, and investment in capital projects that would provide a container for those programs — arts and culture, empowerment, community connection,” Bartlett said. “This is the conversation we’re having with Congress to make it clear that the services that are provided are life-saving and crucial, and it’s important that they be supported.”
Rue Landau, former executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and Democratic candidate for Philadelphia City Council At-Large, also condemned the Republicans’ decision to block funding from William Way.
“The William Way LGBT Center provides essential community and support for our city,” Landau said in a statement. “The LGBTQ+ community is no stranger to these sorts of attacks — we’ve fought homophobia and transphobia our entire lives, and we won’t stop now. Keep your bigotry out of Philly.”
Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club issued a statement expressing disgust by the actions of the House Republicans who voted to cut funding from the LGBTQ+ projects.
“Organizations like William Way are places of safety and belonging for members of the LGBTQ+ community, and this attempt to defund such organizations is a direct attack on the safety of our LGBTQ+ family,” Liberty City’s statement reads. “Liberty City will continue to fight against the bigoted elected officials who try to hurt our community, and encourages members of our community and allies to call their members of Congress to tell them that we will not stand for this attack on our community.”
The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported that Appropriations Committee member Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) compared funding an LGBTQ+ center in Philadelphia to funding a Ku Klux Klan project.
“I know we have First Amendment rights, but let me tell you something ladies and gentlemen, if the Ku Klux Klan applied for one, we’d hear an uproar from the other side,” Harris said. “That’s a First Amendment right, so I guess some First Amendment rights aren’t okay and some are.”
Harris also framed the purpose of the Massachusetts LGBTQ+ project as discriminatory, because being a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally is a requirement to live in the LGBTQ+ housing center in Boston.
The Capital-Star also reported that Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois and ranking member of the Transportation-HUD spending subcommittee, proposed an amendment to have the three LGBTQ+ projects added back to the Appropriations bill. The committee rejected that amendment in a 27-30, with the Republicans voting against adding the projects back into the bill.
Rep. Cole did not respond to a request for comment.