NLIHC and other national leaders of the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) are hosting a national call-in day on July 15 to tell Congress that housing is vital infrastructure and to urge them to include robust housing investments in any infrastructure or recovery package. It is crucial that advocates contact their representatives and senators and urge them to support vital resources, including at least $40 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to build and preserve deeply affordable housing, $70 billion to fully address the public housing capital repair backlog, and an expansion of rental assistance to every eligible household. See the HoUSed campaign’s policy priorities for the infrastructure and recovery package here.
Background
As congressional leaders move forward on both a bipartisan infrastructure package and a broader reconciliation package, the coming weeks are critical for advocates to work together to ensure significant affordable housing resources are included in any recovery bill. Even before the pandemic, America’s lowest-income renters were struggling to pay rent each month. The HoUSed campaign is urging congress to include the robust investments necessary to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis in any infrastructure or recovery package, including:
- An expansion of rental assistance to every eligible household
- $70 billion to repair public housing for current and future generations
- At least $40 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund to build and preserve homes affordable to the lowest-income people
Our best opportunity to advance these bold solutions is in the American Jobs Plan, President Biden’s $2.2 trillion infrastructure and recovery bill to combat the climate crisis, advance racial equity, and “build back better.” To achieve these ambitious goals, Congress must address the urgent housing needs facing extremely low-income households, disproportionately Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), by including in any recovery package the HoUSed campaign’s infrastructure priorities.
This infrastructure and recovery legislation is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in proven affordable housing solutions – including rental assistance, public housing, and the national Housing Trust Fund – at the scale necessary.
Take action on July 15 by joining our national call-in day and demand Congress include robust affordable housing investments in any infrastructure or recovery legislation!
Find out how to contact your member of Congress at: https://tinyurl.com/yb9goyt6