The House and Senate will be in recess until September 8. Please take advantage of the August recess to communicate with your Senators and Representatives and to educate them about the importance of affordable housing and how sequester budget cuts are hurting low income people.
The Caps Hurt Communities campaign is raising awareness about the devastating impact of the federal budget cuts on affordable housing programs. NLIHC and its campaign partners urge you to speak to your Senators and Representatives while they are in their home districts to tell them why Congress must end sequester budget caps and increase resources for federal affordable housing programs.
The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF), coordinated by NLIHC, is sponsoring the Caps Hurt Communities campaign. CHCDF is an education, strategy, and action hub for national organizations dedicated to robust federal housing and community development funding for lower income families and communities.
The Caps Hurt Communities campaign website www.capshurtcommunities.org has suggestions for taking action. Please spread the word about the campaign on social media using the hashtag #CapsHurt.
NLIHC’s 2015 Advocates Guide offers suggestions for scheduling a meeting with members of Congress, at http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Sec2.05_Lobbying-503C_2015.pdf and http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Sec2.06_Congressional-Advocacy_2015.pdf
During these meetings, please describe the effects of cuts in federal funding for affordable housing for low income seniors, people with disabilities, and families, and urge your Congressional delegation to push for elimination of the sequester budget caps to protect affordable housing for low income families and communities.
A number of our partners have already held meetings with their members of Congress. Photos from these meetings are available in the Caps Hurt Communities photo gallery http://www.capshurtcommunities.org/#!gallery/c6w0 Send us pictures and reports on your visits to [email protected] to share with other advocates.