Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) appeared on “Fox News Live” to slam criticism of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s efforts to combat homelessness and the mental health crisis.
“We can’t keep pouring money into symptoms,” Issa argued.
California recently voted to approve Proposition 1, a ballot measure that would allow the state to raise $6.4 billion in bonds to build mental health facilities and drug and alcohol treatment clinics.
California spent $22 billion in 2021 to address the state’s homelessness and mental health crisis. The latest estimates put the state’s homeless population at 181,000.
“That $22 billion that the governor spent was basically buying hotel rooms for people to stay one night, two nights, 10 nights,” Issa said.
California votes to spend $6.4 billion on homelessness crisis despite soaring debt
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, the number of homeless people in California increased from 151,000 in 2019 to 181,000 in 2024. (Fox)
Issa said the state’s focus on short-term solutions, such as temporary hotel accommodation, fails to address the root causes of the problem, such as drug and alcohol abuse due to mental health disorders. insisted.
“The reason people are taking fentanyl is because they have a disorder. People who take fentanyl have a disorder, even if they don’t have a disorder. What’s going on and why are most If you look at why people are homeless, it’s actually drugs and alcohol. So to fix that, we need to use the money that we collect from taxpayers properly, and they’re not doing that. No,” Issa said. “We can’t end homelessness by just giving someone a hotel room for a night. We have to treat the drivers that are causing this homelessness.”
The California Republican also linked the homelessness crisis to organized theft rings and suggested that the “weak” laws under Prop. 47 are facilitating the trade in stolen goods for drugs like fentanyl.
Asked by Fox News anchor Eric Shawn about the “main causes” of the mental health crisis, Issa doubled down on “mental health, including addiction.”
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Proposition 1 adds $6 billion to California’s homeless assistance funding. (Fox News)
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“The truth is, treatment is possible. We can help a lot of people, but that help doesn’t come in a hotel room,” he added. “That help is real therapy. We’re in a situation where we can’t incarcerate anybody unless they want to be incarcerated. And usually as soon as they cool down a little bit, they check themselves and go back and score. Masu.”
Issa also proposed a stronger strategy that would offer people facing felonies the option of jail time or “real treatment” rather than temporary shelter.
“It’s going to require some tough love,” he added.
Sean also asked Issa about calls for a Marshall Plan-like approach to mental health.
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“You are right about the Marshall Plan, but remember that this is a Marshall Plan that must be tailored to each individual. You can’t treat them the same as any other group,” Issa said. . “We have to treat each of these people individually and put them in real supervised situations until they can actually maintain sobriety on their own.”
