The following groups came together and created a plan for how they see the federal government making a meaningful impact on our affordable housing crisis: Catholic Chartities USA, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Children’s Defense Fund, Children’s Health Watch, Community Catalyst, Food Research and Action Center, NAACP, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Nation Associaton of Community Health Centers, Nation Association of Social Workers, Nation Education Association, National League of Cities, National Low Income Housing Coalition and Unidos US. So, what are they recommending?
GOALS
Basically they start out with this
This campaign seeks to ensure that the most vulnerable low-income households can afford the rent. To achieve this ambitious long-term goal, three key policy strategies are essential:
1. Bridge the gap between rents and income for the most vulnerable households through rental assistance;
2. Expand the stock of housing affordable to vulnerable low-income households; and
3. Stabilize households by providing emergency assistance to avert housing instability and homelessness.
5 STEPS
More specifically they propose these 5 steps between now and 2020.
• Advocate for the creation of 500,000 “Opportunity Vouchers” phased in over 5 years at 100,000 per year. The estimated cost of this type of rental assistance is $1.05 billion in the first year and $13.5 billion over five years.
• Increase annual funding for the national Housing Trust Fund to $3.5 billion, which would be 13 times greater than its current funding levels. Reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other housing Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) is one of several potential legislative opportunities to expand the supply of deeply affordable housing.
• Advance an innovative proposal for the creation of a “National Housing Stabilization Fund” which would cushion families from economic shock to avert housing instability and homelessness.
• Advocate for emerging legislative opportunities as they arise, if they advance the long-term goal of the campaign.
• Defend key housing policies and programs from proposed cuts or harmful changes. Critical resources such as Housing Choice Vouchers, the national Housing Trust Fund, and public housing are currently at risk of funding cuts and policy changes that would make them less effective.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
They also spell out all the connections between housing and
– Education
– Health
– Civil Rights
– Economic Mobility
– Hunger
– Economic Productivity
– Criminal Justice
– Veterans
RECENT PROPOSALS
Recent proposals that have estimated the costs include
The costs of reaching our goal depend heavily on the particular design and mix of policy strategies that policymakers choose. To get a sense of the magnitude of cost, here are some examples of ambitious proposals put forth recently by a bipartisan set of sponsors:
• The Children’s Defense Fund has proposed to provide housing vouchers to all families with children with incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line, and for whom market rents are unaffordable. This proposal, which the Urban Institute estimated would cost $22.3 billion annually, would dramatically reduce family homelessness and lift an estimated 2.1 million children out of poverty, thereby reducing child poverty by 22 percent.
• The Terner Center for Housing Innovation modeled three variations of new renter’s tax credits that would significantly reduce housing costs for low-income households. These proposals would serve between 13.3 — 15.1 million households and cost between $41 – $76 billion annually depending on the program design.
• The Bipartisan Policy Center has proposed a new emergency assistance program
that would invest $3 billion annually to help an estimated 2.4 million households experiencing temporary financial crises to avert the loss of housing.Our nation could comfortably afford more robust and equitable housing policy solutions, if we chose to make them a priority. Consider, for example, that:
• The 2017 tax cut law, which disproportionately benefited the nation’s corporations and highest-income households, is projected to cost $1.9 trillion over the coming decade.
• According to economist Gabriel Zucman, American companies have been avoiding around $70 billion each year in taxes by shifting profits to offshore tax havens.
• The annual cost of the mortgage-interest deduction, which disproportionately benefits wealthier homeowners and does little to increase homeownership rates, is roughly $77 billion.
• Research from Children’s HealthWatch found that unstable housing among families with children will cost the U.S. $111 billion in avoidable health and education expenditures over the next ten years.
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE CAMPAIGN
WHEREAS, A safe, decent, affordable home is a foundation of opportunity, but is out of reach for far too many individuals and families. Stakeholders across sectors recognize the importance of housing. Educators know that students are more likely to succeed when they live in a stable, affordable home. Health care providers see strong links between patients’ poor health and the perpetual stress, anxiety, and unstable and unhealthy living conditions created by the lack of an affordable home. Civil rights advocates understand that, to address racial and economic disparities, policies must promote affordable housing in inclusive neighborhoods, end residential segregation, and eliminate housing barriers and discrimination. Community leaders can better help marginalized working families climb up the income ladder and build wealth when high rents are no longer eating up most of their paychecks. Housing is also essential to growing the economy, improving criminal justice outcomes, meeting veterans’ needs, ending homelessness, and more.
WHEREAS, Federal housing policies and programs help many families rent safe, decent homes. Without this aid, many families would be homeless, living in substandard conditions, or struggling to afford other necessities such as nutritious food, health care, and transportation because so much of their income would be spent on rent.
WHEREAS, Federal policy solutions — such as Housing Choice Vouchers, the national Housing Trust Fund, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits — are effective, but are chronically underfunded and face unprecedented threats. Only 1 in 4 families who qualify for federal housing assistance receive the help they need. Effective federal housing policies should be expanded to scale.
WHEREAS, Despite the magnitude of the problem, affordable housing for low-income people is not yet a national priority. Going forward, a diverse range of stakeholders from various sectors will be necessary to generate widespread support and to effectuate federal policies that protect and expand affordable housing.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the signatories of this resolution support a national, multi-sector campaign to meet the housing needs of the nation’s low-income people. To that end, we endorse the creation and launch of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign and are committed to serving as members of the campaign’s Steering Committee. We come from a wide range of sectors, each with our own perspectives and concerns. Yet we all understand the importance of housing within our respective fields, and we all believe that federal policies which protect and expand affordable housing will help us achieve our own respective goals. Such policies would help bridge the growing gap between income and the rising cost of housing; provide aid to people experiencing job losses or other economic shocks to avert housing instability or homelessness; expand the affordable housing stock for low-income renters; and defend existing rental assistance and other targeted housing resources from harmful cuts.
POLITICAL WILL?
We have the resources to invest in solutions — what is missing is the political will to
fund these solutions at the scale necessary. Investments in affordable homes will generate multiplying returns in the form of higher educational attainment, increased economic mobility and productivity, reduced healthcare expenditures, increased investments to local economies, new jobs, and more.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about the campaign and ways you can get involved, visit www.opportunityhome.org.
You can also contact Mike Koprowski, National Campaign Director, at mkoprowski@nlihc.org or Chantelle Wilkinson, National Campaign Coordinator at cwilkinson@nlihc.org.
TAKE ACTION
They have many suggestions on their website on how to take action, check it out.
The video is here
