Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), NY Congressional Delegation member and member of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced the Pathway to Stable and Affordable Housing for All Act, H.R. 5813, a bill which if enacted would help to ameliorate this nation’s homelessness and affordable housing crisis. NYHC supports this bill.
Specifically, the bill consists of four provisions:
- $10 billion per year in additional funding for the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, which focuses on homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing for individuals and families that find themselves homeless;
- $10 billion per year in additional funding for the Continuum of Care Program, which helps organizations move those experiencing longer-term homelessness into the shelter system and provide needed supports;
- $40 billion per year in direct appropriation to the Housing Trust Fund – on top of the existing funding provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – to begin to chip away at the deficit of units in our nation’s affordable housing stock; and
- Fully fund Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (vouchers) to allow all eligible households to get into permanent, safe, affordable housing.
“The New York Housing Conference urges Congress to pass the Pathway to Stable and Affordable Housing for All Act. This bill will help alleviate our current housing crisis by ensuring that all tenant-based vouchers stay fully funded while also targeting resources to create new housing affordable to the neediest renters. One out of ten NYC school children will experience homelessness this year. Across our state, more 900,000 households will pay more than half of their income on rent this month. Tonight, 92,000 are homeless. This is a preventable crisis. Congress must act with the urgency it deserves,” said Rachel Fee, Executive Director of The New York Housing Conference. “We applaud Congresswoman’s Meng leadership on this issue.”