House Democrats have unveiled a $760 billion blueprint for an infrastructure package that does not include robust resources to build or preserve affordable and accessible homes for America’s lowest-income seniors, people of color, people with disabilities, families with children, and other individuals.
Congressional leaders need to hear from you! Please sign onto a national letter urging Congress to include in any infrastructure bill at least $5 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and $70 billion to repair public housing.
Sign the letter at: https://sforce.co/2S4u3rm
Background
The connection between affordable housing and infrastructure is clear: like roads and bridges, affordable housing is a long-term asset that helps communities and families thrive. An infrastructure bill presents a critical opportunity to build and preserve homes affordable to our nation’s lowest-income households.
The HTF is the first new federal housing resource in a generation exclusively targeted to building and preserving housing affordable to people with the lowest incomes. Most states have chosen to use their HTF investments to build, rehabilitate, or preserve affordable rental housing for extremely low-income veterans, seniors, people with disabilities or special needs, and people experiencing homelessness.
Public housing is home to nearly 1 million households and plays a critical role in providing safe, decent housing to families with the greatest needs. Due to decades of declining capital funds, however, public housing now faces a backlog of capital repair needs of as much as $70 billion, threatening the quality and even the existence of these homes. Without sufficient resources, 10,000 to 15,000 public housing apartments are lost each year to obsolescence or decay.
Take Action
Please join organizations across the nation in urging congressional leaders to include in any infrastructure package at least $5 billion for the HTF and $70 billion for public housing capital funds.