Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joined 2020 Democratic presidential candidates Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), and Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro in calling for expanding affordable housing opportunities for those with the greatest needs. Senator Klobuchar announced on July 25 a “Housing Plan” that would increase investments in rural rental assistance, make the Housing Choice Voucher program available to all qualifying households with children, incentivize more construction of affordable housing in high-opportunity neighborhoods, create an emergency fund for renters, and strengthen protections for justice-involved renters, among other things.
Senator Klobuchar’s plan comes just in time for affordable housing to be addressed during the July 30-31 Democratic presidential debates. The housing crisis has worsened significantly in recent years, most harming the lowest-income renters, and constituents are demanding the presidential candidates respond. And the candidates are responding as in no other presidential contest in recent memory, proposing major new investments in new and proven solutions. While the first Democratic debates missed an opportunity to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis, NLIHC calls on the moderators of the second round of debates not to repeat that omission.
According to a national public opinion poll commissioned by NLIHC’s Opportunity Starts at Home multisector affordable homes campaign, support for major federal investments in housing solutions has grown dramatically over the last several years. Today, most people in America (85%) believe ensuring everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to live should be a “top national priority.” Eighty percent believe – on a bipartisan basis - that Congress should “take major action” to make housing more affordable for low-income people. The public overwhelmingly supports major federal investments in programs like the national Housing Trust Fund, rental assistance through tax credits or vouchers, and emergency cash assistance to help low-income families experiencing a financial set-back avoid eviction.
This latest housing proposal from Senator Klobuchar is another example of presidential candidates and members of Congress increasingly willing not just to work around the edges of the housing crisis, but instead to introduce and advance bold, ambitious solutions to tackle it head on. The size and scope of these housing proposals are unlike anything we have seen in generations.
NLIHC has launched a nonpartisan Our Homes, Our Votes 2020 voter and candidate engagement project to raise the issue of affordable housing in the 2020 elections, to urge candidates to discuss how they will deal with the crisis, to track their comments and proposals, and to engage more low-income renters in the voting. Learn more at: https://www.ourhomes-ourvotes.org/