Funds for clearing Marshall Heights were deleted from the 1948 housing bill by the United States House of Representatives after protests by Marshall Heights residents and by John Ihlder, executive director of the National Capital Housing Authority. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman proposed spending $2 million to purchase land and raze all structures in Marshall Heights. The NCPC reported that just 30 percent of the homes in Marshall Heights had running water and sewer service, and that 86 percent of the homes in the neighborhood were so substandard that they should be razed. The agency proposed building 350 detached houses and 950 semi-detached houses, which would triple the number of people living in Marshall Heights to 6,000. Marshall Heights residents opposed the plan, arguing that they would be unable to afford the new homes being built for them. In early May, city officials approved the NCPC's redevelopment plan. In an attempt to support the redevelopment initiative, on May 17, 1949, the NCPC and the city both imposed a freeze on construction permits for the Marshall Heights area. No new construction, major improvements, or even repairs could be made by private or public entities to any structure in the neighborhood. Marshall Heights residents were outraged, and lobbied Congress for an end to the redevelopment program. On June 23, the House Appropriations Committee stripped money for the project from the housing bill. The Senate supported the House two weeks later. Marshall Heights residents had won their battle.