Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Grace Meng (D-NY) reintroduced the “Housing is a Human Right Act” (H.R.1708) on March 22. If enacted, the NLIHC-endorsed bill would invest more than $300 billion in essential affordable and accessible housing infrastructure, including $200 billion for affordable housing and support services, $27 billion annually for homelessness services, and $100 million annually for community-driven alternatives to criminalization of people experiencing homelessness. The bill would also make targeted investments in communities whose members experience a disproportionate risk of homelessness.
“Experiencing homelessness is not a failure of individuals, but a structural failure of a country that has refused to make safe and affordable housing a priority,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “The crisis of housing instability is one that can be fixed by investing in housing infrastructure and supportive services for vulnerable communities. And in the richest country in the world, it is a moral imperative that we take this issue head-on. Housing is a human right – and every person deserves to have a safe place to call home.”
“Housing is a human right, and nobody in the world should be without a place to call home, especially not in America,” said Congresswoman Meng. “That is why I am proud to reintroduce this legislation that invests billions of dollars with the goal of wiping out homelessness across our nation. This is an issue that impacts individuals for a number of reasons and sometimes isn’t fixed with just a physical roof above a person’s head. The bill addresses the issue at the root, and while providing funds for affordable housing, it also provides supportive services and invests in communities that are disproportionately at risk for homelessness.”
Learn more about the bill at: https://bit.ly/3TOUBMA
Read a press release about the bill at: https://bit.ly/3FQkqGj