Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter on March 11 to Vice President Mike Pence, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, and Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Purdue urging them to coordinate and provide owners and operators of federally assisted housing guidance for addressing the urgent health and economic concerns of their residents in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senator Brown noted that Medicare and Medicaid enrollees living in HUD- or USDA-assisted housing are more likely to have chronic health conditions than enrollees who do not need federal housing assistance. As such, coordinated guidance between federal agencies is necessary to ensure at-risk residents will be able to access resources such as food and medication during the coronavirus outbreak, and to help owners and operators take precautions to mitigate the potential spread of the virus. The senator also called on the administration to prevent households from being evicted and to provide economic relief for property owners and operators affected by coronavirus.
Senator Brown’s letter is at: https://bit.ly/3aNEibm
More about HUD-assisted private housing is on page 4-46 of NLIHC’s 2019 Advocates’ Guide.
More about USDA-assisted private housing is on page 4-59 of NLIHC’s 2019 Advocates’ Guide.