Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has declined to testify before Congress next week about the city’s homelessness rate and her government’s actions to address the issue.
In a Sept. 4 letter, Bass’s legal counsel David Michaelson rejected an invitation from Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), in his capacity as a member of the House oversight committee, to testify on Capitol Hill on Sept. 15. Michaelson said the Democratic mayor “is not available on that date.”
The congressional subcommittee led by Burchett summoned Bass to answer questions on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s allocation of federal funds to nonprofit groups in the Los Angeles area. In a letter dated Sept. 2, the Republican subcommittee chairman expressed concern that taxpayer money may have been misallocated to such groups.
“It’s a shame Mayor Bass is afraid to come testify about her policies that have increased homelessness in Los Angeles and enabled a culture of corruption,” a spokesperson for the House oversight committee said.
While she will not be able to testify, Bass’s office is collecting and reviewing records requested by the subcommittee. Michaelson said the mayor’s office will try to provide the relevant documents and information by Sept. 14 but noted the process may “take some time,” given the requested records date back to January 2020.
Also in his response, Bass’s legal counsel said LAHSA operates separately from the City of Los Angeles. Still, Bass and her four appointees take up five of the seats on the 10-member LAHSA commission. The other five are appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Michaelson also said that street homelessness in Los Angeles has decreased 11% since 2023 in response to Burchett’s claim that the “problem has grown worse during [her] tenure as mayor.” The Los Angeles government attributes the reduction in homelessness to programs such as Inside Safe, which has moved homeless people off the streets and into interim housing.
Spencer Pratt, the Republican candidate who lost in the mayoral primary this summer, strongly criticized Bass for refusing to testify before Congress. He linked her response to her administration’s failures surrounding the destructive Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.
The Washington Examiner contacted Bass’s office for comment.