The House Financial Services Committee will vote on June 27 on the “Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act” (HR 2069), introduced by Representative Mike Turner (R-OH). NLIHC opposes the bill as currently written and urges members of the Committee to address the bill’s significant flaws.
Representative Turner’s bill aims to provide housing assistance to youth aging out of the foster system, but it provides no additional resources to do so. Instead, the bill diverts already underfunded housing resources away from other low income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, people experiencing homelessness, and other individuals in critical need of assistance to afford to keep a roof over their heads.
Moreover, the bill imposes new burdens – the first ever for individuals who rely on federal housing assistance – including work, education, and training and self-sufficiency requirements. While the bill provides a grace period for individuals who are unable to meet these requirements, the legislation sets a troubling and unacceptable precedent. Federal housing programs help prevent homelessness and housing poverty, and requiring households to meet new eligibility requirements is counterproductive to this purpose.
NLIHC and other national leaders sent a letter to Mr. Turner outlining our concerns. NLIHC will continue to work to improve the bill and will keep NLIHC members and partners updated.
See NLIHC’s letter at: https://bit.ly/2yCqu5q