John,

The United States faces a housing crisis of epic proportions, with too many working people unable to afford a roof over their heads.

While the federal government provides some support to single-family homeowners, it’s not enough — most financial support goes to large, corporate landlords and for-profit developers who are building homes for profit instead of people. And the public housing that does exist in our communities is often neglected or in poor condition that threatens the health and safety of its residents.

As Justice Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Tina Smith explain in their latest New York Times essay, “The result is a housing market where corporate landlords make record profits while half of America’s 44 million renters struggle to pay rent. For a generation of young people, the idea of home has become loaded with anxiety; too many know they can’t find an affordable, stable place to rent, let alone buy.”

To finally combat this, AOC and Tina just unveiled a historic new bill for social housing called the Homes Act, which would establish a new, federally backed development authority to finance and build homes in big cities and small towns across America using union labor.

It would then turn the management of those residences over to entities that agree to manage them for permanent affordability, such as public and tribal housing authorities, cooperatives, tenant unions, community land trusts, nonprofits, and local governments. Under this plan:

• Rent would be capped at 25% of a household’s adjusted gross income;
• Homes would be built and set aside for lower-income families in mixed-income buildings and communities;
• Every home would be built to modern and efficient standards to ensure health and safety while cutting utility costs for residents.

This is the bold solution we need to address one of the biggest problems facing working people across our country, but it’s going to require strong public pressure to push Congress to support it.

Will you add your name to show your support for AOC’s Homes Act right now?

Add Your Name

This is a perfect example of why we need more working-class, progressive leaders like AOC in Congress with the lived experience and commitment to fight for the policies that put working people, not profits, first. Let’s do everything we can to support her bill and make it a reality!

In solidarity,

Justice Democrats