Support Public and Affordable Housing Initiatives

Adopted at the 86th Annual Meeting in 2018

  • WHEREAS, over 1.2 million Americans currently reside in public housing units; and

    WHEREAS, public and affordable housing helps us to ensure that our most vulnerable communities continue to have access to safe and affordable housing; and

    WHEREAS, our nation is currently facing a housing affordability crisis as families are cost burdened with paying more than 30 percent of their annual income for housing; and

    WHEREAS The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released a legislative proposal that seeks to alter America's social safety net by raising rental contributions of families currently receiving federal rental assistance from 30 percent net income to 35 percent gross income; and

    WHEREAS, the legislative proposal increases monthly rent contributions for families who reside in public housing which will lead to increased difficulty with attaining other living necessities such as food and transportation; and

    WHEREAS, the legislative proposal would also eliminate deductions for child care expenses, medical expenses, and dependent care expenses for the purposes of income calculations on recipients; and

    WHEREAS, the legislative proposal would allow public housing authorities and landlords to impose work and time requirements on residents; and

    WHEREAS, public housing has been severely underfunded, resulting in the deterioration of public housing buildings and an increased backlog of capital repairs; and

    WHEREAS, more than $26 billion is needed to address all public housing capital needs "? many of which have damage, that pose a serious threat to residents overall health and well-being;

    WHEREAS, public housing authorities are in need of additional federal resources to perform much-needed capital repairs to help to improve the living conditions and health outcomes for all public housing residents;

    NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress to reject any proposed changes to federal rental assistance programs that would seek to increase monthly tenant rent contributions, impose work requirements, or time limits.

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress to appropriate $2.5 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund, $4.8 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund, and $22 billion for the Housing Choice Vouchers Program for fiscal year 2019 to ensure that our most vulnerable communities have continued equal access to safe and affordable housing and that the public housing authorities who support them have sufficient resources to carry out much-needed maintenance and capital repairs.
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