John,

Housing is a human right, but our government’s investments in affordable housing and public housing have long been insufficient.

That's why I’m urging my colleagues in Congress to invest in affordable housing, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) affordable housing and homelessness program.

I’m also leading a congressional letter to include at least $600 million in next year’s federal budget to fund the State Veterans Homes Program, which provides housing and supportive care for thousands of veterans in Michigan and across our country.

On the floor of the House of Representatives, I spoke up about my new legislation to address our country’s affordable housing crisis: the Public Housing for the 21st Century Act.

If passed, this bill will provide public housing authorities, housing finance agencies, and other entities with the information and assistance they need to adopt the latest best practices in developing mixed-income public housing, from extremely low-income to moderate-income households.

Mixed-income public housing—including extremely low-income to moderate-income households—promotes the financial stability and proper maintenance of housing developments, fosters community diversity and integration, and allows scarce federal subsidies to be targeted to the most vulnerable households.

Can you sign on to support my Public Housing for the 21st Century Act to address our country’s affordable housing crisis?

I’m proud to have worked with housing justice advocates for years, including creating a local legislative working group on housing access and bringing Congresspeople from the House Financial Services Committee to my district to hear from local experts.

When it comes to federally funded public housing, I’ve introduced bills to strengthen HUD tenant protections and to protect public housing residents from dangerous facial recognition technology.

Recently, I introduced legislation to address youth homelessness, which was crafted with young people with lived experience to meet the real needs of our unhoused neighbors.

I’ve also passed legislation to expand homeownership opportunities by pushing for more support for small-dollar mortgages, and to provide financing assistance to low-income households.

I will continue pushing for housing justice for all, alongside grassroots movements. Together, we can guarantee the human right to housing.

In solidarity,

Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Sat, Apr 28, 2024
Subject: Sign on to support my Public Housing for the 21st Century Act:
To: [email protected]

John,

April is National Fair Housing Month, and we’re in an urgent housing crisis.

With 78% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck and rent continuing to skyrocket, families across the country are facing homelessness. The average renter now pays over 30% of their income on rent.

Public housing is a crucial lifeline, particularly for our most vulnerable neighbors. However, our government’s investments in public housing have long been insufficient.

To increase affordable housing within the constraints of inadequate federal subsidies, I introduced the Public Housing for the 21st Century Act, which will ensure that public housing developers have access to the latest best practices, using local policy tools and financing.

Please add your name to support my Public Housing for the 21st Century Act, which will increase urgently-needed affordable housing production.

When I brought Congresspeople to my district for a hearing and tour on housing justice, local experts affirmed that investing in affordable housing is a key part of addressing our nation’s housing affordability crisis.

Housing is a human right, and it’s clear that the private market has failed to provide housing that is safe, accessible, and affordable for all.

We need more quality public housing. In the face of insufficient federal subsidies for affordable rental units, innovative state and local public developers are building affordable units by leveraging local policy tools, adopting innovative financing mechanisms, and using market rate units to cross-subsidize below-market affordable units.

As the push for new, locally-driven public housing development is growing nationwide, all locales should have easy access to the latest models and policy options.

Can you sign on to support my Public Housing for the 21st Century Act today?

Thank you for pushing to secure the human right to housing.

While homeownership is a vital part of economic stability, it’s out of reach for so many, particularly for people who’ve experienced institutionalized discrimination.

Nationally, the Black-white homeownership gap is wider than it was before the civil rights movement, before the Fair Housing Act made redlining illegal. After the 2008 financial crisis which targeted Black homeowners with predatory loans, my state of Michigan experienced the largest drop in Black homeownership compared to any other state.

To push back, I passed legislation to secure financing assistance to low-income households and to expand homeownership opportunities by pushing for more support for small-dollar mortgages. I’m also pushing to expand banking opportunities and access to credit.

With you and other advocates by my side, I will continue to push to end systemic racism and to guarantee human rights for all.

In solidarity,

Rashida