Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) of the U.S. House of Representatives, along with Representatives Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rob Menendez (D-NJ), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Dwight Evans (D-PA) Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Grace Meng (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Elanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), announced the launch of the Congressional Renters Caucus on June 7. The caucus will be focused on addressing the affordable housing needs of renters, including issues of housing affordability and bureaucratic barriers that decrease housing access, and increasing the supply of affordable rental housing.
“As the burden of rent has increased significantly, far outpacing the increase in real wages, it’s become clear that we need a strong, coordinated effort in Congress to advocate for the millions of renters in our country,” said Representative Gomez during a June 7 press conference announcing the launch of the Caucus. “I see firsthand the challenges faced by renters – soaring costs, often subpar living conditions, discriminatory barriers. The unreasonable cost of rent not only affects individuals and families. In fact, economists warn that it will have significant impact on the country’s GDP, meaning this is an issue that affects everyone. This long overdue caucus will be the launching pad for legislative efforts and advocacy to finally give renters a voice in Washington.”
According to data from NLIHC’s annual report The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Rental Homes, there are only 25 affordable and available rental units per 100 extremely low-income renters – those earning no more than 30% of area median income (AMI) – in Representative Gomez’s district. Sixty-six percent of these renters are severely housing cost burdened, spending over half of their incomes on rent and utilities every month. With so much money going towards the cost of housing, renters with extremely low incomes have little money left for other necessities, like nutritious food, medical care, or school supplies, and are often one unexpected expense away from falling behind on rent and facing eviction.
“The Congressional Renters Caucus is launching in the midst of an ongoing affordable housing crisis,” said Kim Johnson, policy manager at NLIHC, who spoke at a press conference commemorating the Caucus’s launch. “Nationally, there is a shortage of over 7 million rental units affordable and available to renters with the lowest incomes, and there is not a single state or congressional district in the country with enough deeply affordable homes to meet demand. This is a problem that reaches past state and party lines and that impacts us all.”
Read Representative Gomez’s press release on the Caucus launch at: https://tinyurl.com/2szt4ce5