Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) led 76 of their congressional colleagues in a letter on April 6 to President Biden calling on the administration to include the HoUSed campaign’s top priorities in the infrastructure package. The letter highlights the urgent need to include substantial affordable housing investments as part of the Build Back Better infrastructure package.
The members of Congress ask that the infrastructure package include, at a minimum, three key affordable housing investments in line with the HoUSed campaign’s priorities:
- Guarantee Housing Choice Vouchers for all eligible Americans and convert the funding status from annual appropriations to mandatory spending;
- $70 billion to address the Public Housing repair backlog; and
- $45 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund per year, of which $26 billion should be reserved for permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
The letter urges the Biden administration to consider these three principal recommendations as minimum housing investments to help ensure the Build Back Better infrastructure package delivers broad, equitable benefits to all Americans. “Without proportional affordable housing investments, there is no path for an equitable recovery and long-term financial stability for low- and middle-income American families,” write the members.
Read the “Dear Colleague” letter at: https://bit.ly/2QczEPi
Learn about the HoUSed campaign’s priorities for the American Jobs Plan Act at: https://bit.ly/3dKdzzu