A group of Congressional lawmakers is urging the Biden Administration to include major investments in affordable housing in the upcoming infrastructure package.
“Without proportional affordable housing investments, there is no path for an equitable recovery and long-term financial stability for low- and middle-income American families,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden. “Our current low affordable housing inventory is a significant driver of higher housing costs, which in turn strains limited federal rental assistance programs. Despite the clear and urgent need, only one in four households who qualify for housing assistance receives it due to decades of chronic underfunding by Congress. Millions of eligible households are currently stuck on waiting lists – often for several years – hoping for help to come sooner.”
The letter was signed by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and 56 additional lawmakers in both chambers of Congress.
Specifically, the lawmakers are asking Biden to include several key affordable housing infrastructure programs. Among them are guarantee housing choice vouchers for all eligible Americans; $70 billion to address the public housing repair backlog; and $45 billion per year for the National Housing Trust Fund per year, of which $26 billion should be reserved for permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
“Eight million of the lowest-income renters pay at least half of their income on rent, leaving them without the resources they need to put food on the table, purchase needed medications, or make ends meet,” the lawmakers continued. “Coronavirus and the compounding effects of explosive wildfires and extreme weather events have made the need for affordable housing more clear than ever in both rural and urban communities. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, fifty-four million rural residents lived in areas that had either a severe need or moderately severe need for the production of more affordable rental housing.”
The lawmakers noted that there is no path for an equitable recovery and long-term financial stability for low- and middle-income American families without affordable housing investments.