A group of senators negotiating a bipartisan infrastructure deal announced on July 28 that they had reached an agreement on the $1.2 trillion package. While legislative text for the bill is yet to be released, the White House issued a fact sheet outlining how funds will be allocated. The bill cleared a procedural hurdle on July 30, when senators voted to continue moving the bill forward, and the legislation may receive a vote for passage in the Senate as early as this week.
While the timeline for enacting the bipartisan bill remains unclear, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the Senate will begin work on a broader $3.5 trillion recovery package with robust housing investments once the bipartisan bill is finalized. Democrats are hoping to enact the $3.5 trillion bill without Republican support through a process known as reconciliation, which would allow the bill to pass the Senate with only 51 votes, rather than the usual 60 required in the chamber.
The reconciliation package provides an opportunity to enact the HoUSed campaign’s legislative priorities, including an expansion of rental assistance to every eligible household; $70 billion to address the capital repair backlog in public housing; and at least $45 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF).
Advocates should weigh in NOW with your members of Congress and tell them to include the robust resources necessary to address the nation’s severe shortage of affordable, accessible housing for the lowest-income people. The reconciliation legislation is an extraordinary and unique opportunity to invest in proven affordable housing solutions, including rental assistance, public housing, and the HTF, at the scale necessary. NLIHC urges advocates to contact your members of Congress as soon as possible to tell them that housing is infrastructure and that they must include the HoUSed campaign priorities.
Find out how to contact your members of Congress at: https://tinyurl.com/yb9goyt6
View the HoUSed campaign policy priorities at: https://tinyurl.com/4sfyxzrm