The Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign and the Bipartisan Policy Center hosted a congressional briefing on December 3 to discuss the cross-sector impacts of affordable housing and how the “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act,” “Eviction Cris Act,” Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act,” and “Choice in Affordable Housing Act ” support the health and wellbeing of families nationwide. OSAH campaign director Chantelle Wilkinson moderated a panel of experts to share research on the potential impact of the bills for families and children and to discuss the bipartisan public support for the bills’ provisions. The briefing concluded with a call to action for elected officials to cosponsor and support the bills in the House and Senate.
Briefing speakers included:
- Opening remarks, Michael Kelley, director of BPC Action
- Moderator, Chantelle Wilkinson, director of the OSAH campaign
- Carl Gershenson, lab director at Eviction Lab
- Dr. Stefanie DeLuca, James Coleman professor of social policy and sociology at Johns Hopkins University
- Charlotte Bruce, senior research and policy analyst at Children’s HealthWatch
- Greg Brown, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Apartment Association
Carl Gershenson discussed the impacts of the affordable housing crisis and evictions nationwide that are affecting urban, suburban, and rural areas in every region of the country. He cited data revealing that households making less than $30,000 had an average of $380 left each month after paying rent, leaving very little to pay for all other expenses and putting these households one unexpected expense away from missing a rental payment and facing eviction. Eviction Lab data show that there are about 7.6 million renters threatened by evictions each year. Children face the highest risk of eviction with over 10% of children in renter households receiving an eviction filing each year. Eviction Lab research shows that children who experience an eviction are more likely to have negative mental health, education, and economic outcomes.
Mr. Gershenson cited this research to assert that “anti-eviction policy is pro-family policy.” He went on to highlight how the Eviction Crisis Act would address this issue by creating a permanent emergency rental assistance fund. Emergency rental assistance funds made available during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that such a program proved effective at reducing eviction rates. The small payments, on average $2,000, distributed to households during that time were enough to stabilize households and prevent eviction. These one-time payments were less expensive than downstream interventions, including emergency shelter, emergency medical care, and child welfare services required once a family enters homelessness. The creation of a permanent rental assistance program would allow programs that were successful during the pandemic to continue providing housing stabilization services and build on their early success.
Mr. Gershenson went on to talk about the effect of eviction on employment outcomes, as households lose housing stability, support networks, and family routines which compromise their ability to work. Policies like the “Eviction Crisis Act” that support residential stability are critical to creating better employment outcomes for families with low incomes.
Dr. Stefanie Deluca discussed research showing the benefits of housing assistance to children and families, the research’s influence on the provisions in each bill, and the bipartisan support for the bills. Dr. Deluca highlighted research demonstrating that the programs the bills focus on are cost-effective and end up paying for themselves over time. Existing research on affordable housing programs and child and family outcomes led to collaboration between researchers and policymakers on empirically informed bill provisions in “The Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act” and the “Choice in Affordable Housing Act.” She emphasized the cross-sector impacts of housing insecurity on families, and the positive impacts of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program on reducing homelessness, school instability, and food insecurity. Research shows that the HCV Program bolsters parent mental health and child health and creates cost savings through reduced spending on emergency housing and medical interventions. Dr. Deluca went on to highlight the earning potential of children who grow up in stable housing in well-resourced communities, and how those increased earnings recoup spending on rental subsidy programs. These rental subsidy programs also provide stable income to mom-and-pop landlords and prevent vacancies in neighborhoods. Landlord incentives, like those provided in the “Choice in Affordable Housing Act,” can attract more landlords to participate in the HCV program even in competitive housing markets.
Charlotte Bruce discussed the impact of housing instability and homelessness on ballooning healthcare costs across the country and the interest across party lines in reducing costs. She highlighted how access to affordable housing in communities of a family’s choice helps to reduce healthcare expenditures. Ms Bruce noted that the bills discussed contain a suite of policies that work together to address different aspects of the affordable housing crisis (supply, demand, and eviction prevention). She went on to discuss research from Children’s HealthWatch that demonstrates how critical housing is to health outcomes. Families with access to safe, stable, and affordable housing in communities of their choice have better health outcomes, while families without such access are more likely to experience poor health outcomes, poor maternal health and birth outcomes, and child developmental delays. Children’s HealthWatch cost estimates from 2016 found that avoidable healthcare costs related to housing totaled $111 billion over 10 years. Families who experience housing instability are also more likely to lose access to programs like WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid. Ms. Bruce emphasized that the four bills would help to expand the housing stock for families, stabilize households, and prevent evictions, which in turn would prevent the loss of health and welfare services and the need for more expensive emergency interventions.
Greg Brown discussed how the “YIMBY Act” and “Choice in Affordable Housing Act” address the need for increased housing supply paired with an effective rental assistance program. He stated that both Republicans and Democrats recognize the importance of advancing the bills. He also highlighted the important role local governments play in creating new housing and the unnecessary barriers to housing supply that could be reduced through provisions in the YIMBY Act. Mr. Brown also highlighted the importance of continued public and private sector partnerships in creating more affordable housing, citing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and the HCV programs as existing partnerships with proven success. Bills like the “Choice in Affordable Housing Act” modify existing programs to make them more effective and efficient.
Expanding HCV access and stabilizing households are critical to addressing the nation’s housing crisis, and the inclusion of the “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act” and “Eviction Crisis Act” in any bipartisan housing packages that move forward in the House and Senate would be significant wins for the campaign as it works to advance these bills. Together with its multi-sector partners, the OSAH campaign will continue to champion both bills. NLIHC supports all four of the proposed bills in any bipartisan housing packages that move forward in the House and Senate and will continue to work with partners to advance the bills.
Watch a recording of the briefing here.