In response to HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s proposal to increase rents and impose work requirements on the lowest income households, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced H. Res. 886 on May 10 to affirm the importance of the Brooke rule. The rule, established in 1969 by Senator Edward Brooke (R-MA), ensured that households receiving federal rental assistance paid no more than 25% of their adjusted incomes for rent. The percentage was raised to 30% in 1981 and has been the standard since then. Representative Waters’ resolution rejects Dr. Carson’s proposal to increase rents on HUD-assisted households to 35% of gross incomes and “acknowledges the need for increased funding for Federal rental assistance programs in order to assist more families in need.”
Read the full resolution at: https://bit.ly/2KTmPCi
Read the statement by NLIHC and other housing advocates opposing rent increases: https://bit.ly/2wEKEL3