Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) on July 28 introduced the “Unhoused Bill of Rights,” a federal resolution calling on Congress to end the homelessness crisis by 2025. The resolution urges the federal government to declare the homelessness crisis a life-threatening public health emergency and provides a comprehensive list of more than 30 recommendations to guarantee housing, health care, and livable wages for unhoused people. Those recommendations include universal rental assistance and funding the national Housing Trust Fund at $40 billion annually, two of NLIHC’s HoUSed campaign’s policy priorities. This is the first federal resolution that affirms the civil and human rights of unhoused individuals and communities.
“The unhoused crisis in our country is a public health emergency, and a moral and policy failure at every level of our government,” said Congresswoman Bush. “As someone who has lived in her car with my two infants while I was working a full-time job, I know the daily trauma and stress that comes with the perpetual instability of not having a safe place to live. It is past time for the federal government to establish an ‘Unhoused Bill of Rights’ and make the desperately needed investments to guarantee housing, health care, and a robust social safety net for our unhoused neighbors. We can end this crisis by 2025 if we, as lawmakers and as a country, finally dedicate ourselves to prioritizing those in our communities who have the least.”
In a press release for the resolution, NLIHC’s President and CEO Diane Yentel stated, “Congress must use every opportunity to advance housing solutions that move our nation towards universal, stable, and affordable homes for everyone, the ‘Unhoused Bill of Rights’ resolution makes clear: housing is a human right and bold solutions – including universal rental assistance, robust resources to preserve public housing, and significant investments in the national Housing Trust Fund – are central to any strategy to ending homelessness. Homelessness is a policy choice, and I applaud Congresswoman Bush for helping to build the political will necessary to end this entirely preventable crisis.”
View the press release at: https://tinyurl.com/36n9rjwt
Read more about the resolution at: https://tinyurl.com/9ht5hmkn