Our Homes, Our Votes: 2020, NLIHC’s non-partisan candidate and voter engagement project, continues to monitor all 2020 presidential candidates’ statements and proposals on affordable housing and the needs of the lowest-income people in America. While advocates were disappointed the first nationally televised debates did not feature a question on affordable housing, there were several mentions of the topic by the candidates:
- Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) mentioned homelessness in his opening statement. He said, “500,000 people are sleeping out on the street.”
- South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg made the point that “you should be able to live well, afford rent . . . whether you went to college or not. That’s one of the many reasons why we need to raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.”
- Andrew Yang, speaking in favor of universal basic income, said, “ [By implementing universal basic income] we would save money on things like incarceration, homelessness services, emergency room healthcare.”
- Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) said, “No one should have to work more than one job to afford the roof over their head and food on the table.”
This is just the beginning. Every day, affordable housing gains momentum in the 2020 primary, being addressed by the candidates as in no previous elections in decades, if ever. Just a couple of the recent news articles discussing the candidates’ positions on affordable housing:
- “Democrats Get Serious About Affordable Housing,” American Prospect, June 26 at: https://rebrand.ly/sxt3zz
- “Yes, Your Rent is Too Damn High. Here’s What 2020 Democrats Want to Do About It.” Vice News, June 26 at: https://rebrand.ly/2lrtri
Want to know what each of the 2020 presidential candidates has said about affordable housing to-date? NLIHC’s Our Homes, Our Votes project is keeping track: check out the profiles of all the 2020 candidates—and what they have said so far.