Robert Lee Ahn Campaign Warns Gas Tax Hike Will Add to Homeless Crisis in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 1, 2017) - Coming on the heels of a new survey showing a whopping 23% increase in the number of homeless in Los Angeles County, former LA Planning Commissioner Robert Lee Ahn, who is running for the 34^th Congressional district seat, warned that a massive gas tax hike starting Nov. 1^st will only add to the homeless population and burden low and middle-income families struggling to survive.

"This is not just a hefty 12-cent per gallon regressive tax hike that my opponent voted for, but also a big jump in vehicle license and registration fees starting July 1^st which will hurt lower-income families the hardest," Ahn said. "The steep rise in fuel will also affect everything from food prices to the cost of housing."

Ahn pointed to the annual survey by the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority which showed a sharp rise to nearly 58,000 homeless in the county and over 34,000 in the city of Los Angeles alone with the lack of affordable housing compounded by rising costs and languishing wages.

"Jimmy Gomez voted for this massive gas tax hike without caring or thinking about the impact it would have on the residents of the 34^th district which has the highest percentage of low-income families in the state," Ahn said. "It shows he can show the same lack of regard when he gets to Washington and push for a hike in the 18.4 cent a gallon federal gas tax."

The average price of a gallon of gas in Los Angeles hovers at $3.07 per gallon according to Gas Buddy. The 12-cent hike and registration and license fees together with the gas tax could cost an average family over $1,000 in two years, Ahn said.

"With the median household income in the Westlake portion of the district around $26,700, that gas tax hike may be the difference between having a roof over their heads or being on the streets," Ahn said.

The 34th District represents all of Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Little Bangladesh, as well as parts of Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Downtown, Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, City Terrace, Echo Park, El Sereno, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, Mt. Washington, Montecito Heights, and Westlake/Pico Union. For more information, go to www.AhnforCongress.com. The general election is June 6^th.