Please join Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) and other national organizations for a national call-in day on July 15 to tell Congress that housing is vital infrastructure and that they must include robust housing investments in any infrastructure or recovery package. 

Background:

As congressional leaders move forward on both a bipartisan infrastructure and broader reconciliation package, the coming weeks are critical for advocates to work together to ensure that significant affordable housing resources are included in any recovery bill. 

Even before the pandemic, homelessness and affordable housing were major challenges for millions of low-income and marginalized households. Children, seniors, people with disabilities, working families, and even veterans were already struggling to pay their rent and were at risk of losing their housing or worse homeless.

We believe the president’s housing proposal is a good first step since it includes funds for affordable housing development and capital investments; however, it lacks some key critical supports for low-income and marginalized households. 

CCUSA is calling on Congress to:

• Expand rental assistance for every eligible household.
• Expand the Housing Choice Voucher program and provide multi-year/mandatory funding to help people afford housing.
• Increase federal support to build more affordable housing, including increased funding of the low-income housing tax credit and its related programs. These investments should also be expanded and reformed to better serve rural communities.
• Invest $45 billion in the National Housing Trust Fund to build and preserve affordable homes for the lowest-income and most marginalized households, including those in rural communities.
• Expand opportunities for people of color to purchase their own homes.
• Expand investments in Section 515 USDA Rural Housing and the Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization Program to preserve affordable homes in rural communities.
• Provide $70 billion to repair public housing

CCUSA strongly believes that any strategy to reduce poverty in America must also confront homelessness and the affordable housing crisis. Additionally, policies must address the deep connection between racism and poverty, particularly concerning housing, lending, education and employment.

The infrastructure and recovery plan proposed by the White House, and being discussed by Congress, is a rare opportunity to advance bold solutions that make critical investments in affordable housing, prevent homelessness, and address the housing needs facing extremely low-income households who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous and people of color. 

For more information regarding CCUSA priorities, please click here.

Action:

Please call or email your Senator and urge them to support inclusion of robust affordable investments in any infrastructure or recovery legislation.

Click here to find out how to contact your member of Congress.