Representative Omar Calls for $1 Trillion Investment in Public Housing and Housing Trust Fund

Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced on November 20 the “Homes for All Act” that would invest $1 trillion to create 9.5 million new public housing apartments and 2.5 million deeply affordable rental homes through the national Housing Trust Fund. The bill would repeal the Faircloth Amendment, the current federal ban on the creation of new public housing, and ensure mandatory, full funding for public housing. In addition, the bill would bar public housing agencies from “repositioning” the housing stock, which entails demolition, disposition, or conversion to vouchers. The bill would prohibit denying access to public housing based on a person’s criminal history or immigration status. And the bill would create a $200 billion program to help local governments combat gentrification and neighborhood destabilization.

Upon introduction, NLIHC president and CEO Diane Yentel said, “I applaud Congresswoman Omar for introducing bold legislation to make investments in affordable housing at the scale necessary to ensure that housing is a right, not a privilege.”

The bill text is at: https://tinyurl.com/sckmgso

An executive summary of the bill is at: https://bit.ly/2KK8Vnu