An article published on December 6, 2017, claimed that Donald Trump’s administration had cut a Veterans Affairs program for homeless veterans while the number of homeless veterans increased.
“Trump ends homeless vets program as their numbers rise for first time in 7 years,” the headline from Shareblue Media runs.
The article, which saw an increase in traffic on Facebook recently, cites a report from Politico.
Politico updated its own Dec. 6 piece one day later to say that “Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has killed a plan to shift money from a major homelessness program” amid heavy backlash from advocacy groups and other government agencies.
The report from Shareblue Media, however, may have been written prior to Shulkin revoking the proposed plan, which occured “late Wednesday”—December 6—as Politico noted. The article was and remains inaccurate in stating in its headline that “Trump ends homeless vets program.”
Shulkin released the statement saying that “there will be absolutely no change in the funding to support our homeless programs” at 5:53 p.m. on Wednesday, December 6.
Shareblue Media’s article is also unclear on what the proposed program shift would have actually done. The Washington Post reports that the change would have diverted funds from the VA “to local VA hospitals for discretionary use.”
The article was correct in noting that the population of homeless veterans saw an increase in 2017, the first time in seven years. The article does not note that the increase was small (close to 600 people) and “largely due to a spike in the Los Angeles area, where the cost of housing has skyrocketed” as CNN reports.
There is a link at the bottom of the article to an update on the story, headlined “Veterans shame Trump admin into keeping program for homeless vets.” But without an update to the headline or clarification to the original article, it remains a mixed bag.
If you have questions about this fact check, or would like to submit a request for another fact check, email Holmes Lybrand at [email protected] or the Weekly Standard at [email protected]. For details on TWS Fact Check, see our explainer here.
