Washington, D.C.-The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) just released Opportunities to End Homelessness and Housing Poverty in a Trump Administration—a transition memo to the incoming administration on steps it should take to end homelessness and housing poverty in America.
NLIHC urges the new administration to seize this moment of political change to implement solutions to the affordable housing crisis faced by the lowest income households in America. NLIHC notes that there are 10.4 million extremely low income households in the U.S., those with incomes at or below 30% of their area median income, but just 3.2 million units of rental housing are affordable and available to them. As a result, 75% of these households are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their incomes on rent and utilities, and hundreds of thousands of individuals are homeless.
NLIHC highlights ways for the Trump administration to protect and expand investments in affordable housing and improve housing choice and economic mobility. It calls on the Trump administration to strengthen and increase funding for affordable rental housing programs targeted to those most in need through an infrastructure spending package, comprehensive tax reform, the appropriations process, housing finance reform, and regulatory avenues.
“We strongly urge this new administration to seize the opportunity to address the full scope of affordable housing challenges for families with the greatest needs,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel. “Protecting and increasing investments in affordable rental housing for extremely low income families should be a top priority of a Trump administration.”
The memorandum states: “Throughout the campaign, President-elect Trump has focused on the importance of rebuilding American cities and communities. He proposed investing in our nation’s infrastructure in order to spur economic growth, create millions of new jobs, and increase wages for American workers.” NLIHC urges the Trump administration to ensure that investments in affordable housing are a key component in any such infrastructure spending plan. The memo also notes that both the Republican Party Platform and the House Republicans’ A Better Way Agenda “commit to focusing resources on the people who need it the most and creating opportunities for low income families to escape poverty.” Affordable housing for the lowest income people in America should be a priority in these efforts, according to the memo.
NLIHC cites a survey conducted in 2016 that found that 76% of Americans believe it is important for federal elected officials to take action on housing affordability and that 70% of Americans agree that affordable housing is a long-term asset that helps families and children climb the economic ladder.
To read NLIHC’s Opportunities to End Homelessness and Housing Poverty in a Trump Administration document, visit: http://bit.ly/2fJZ43s
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Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, the National Low income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest income in the United States have affordable and decent homes.