Rachel Fee published an Op-Ed in the Gotham Gazette this week making the case for housing funding to remain in the final Build Back Better package. As moderate Democrats hold out for a smaller budget bill, NYHC is working with national and local partners to ensure that robust housing funding remains in the final package.
When President Biden and Congress first announced the details of the Build Back Better Act, they sent a loud and clear signal to housing advocates and stakeholders that help was finally on the way. The $330 billion investment into the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and $30 billion into the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program both represented the most significant plan in generations to address a worsening housing crisis.
Now, however, Washington is sending a different signal: housing is not important enough. In the latest round of negotiations, Congress is considering cutting the housing programs by more than two thirds, lowering the investment to just $100 billion. That will mean significantly less funding for rental assistance, public housing, and tools that will boost production of housing across the country – and, in that scenario, we all lose.
Read the Op-Ed here.