The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities has endorsed H.R. 4351, the Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) Act. The YIMBY Act, originally co-sponsored by Representatives Denny Heck (D-WA) and Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN), is a bipartisan housing bill that seeks to encourage, while not mandating, localities to advance policies that eliminate discriminatory land use policies, exclusionary zoning and other artificial barriers to building affordable housing.
The YIMBY Act achieves these goals by requiring Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) recipients to report periodically on the extent to which they are removing discriminatory land use policies and implementing inclusive and affordable housing policies detailed by the bill.
The YIMBY Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives unopposed under suspension of the rules on March 2, 2020, and is now in the Senate awaiting consideration. CLPHA is working with Up for Growth Action, the lead advocacy organization generating support for the bill, and is encouraging our members to sign-on as an endorser of the bill.
There is a narrow window of opportunity to advance the YIMBY bill to passage after recess in September, and broad geographic, organizational, and industry support can help convince Senate leadership the bill should be considered for a vote.
ACTION:
To add your organization to the endorser’s list, please send an email to:
Emergency rental assistance is in jeopardy in the latest stimulus package in the Senate. Early indication is that housing assistance and direct rental assistance will not be a part of the Senate legislative package.The Senate is debating the stimulus right now. Renters are facing a devastating cliff with CARES Act protections expiring at the end of this month. Public housing authorities’ voices are critical to the Senate debate.
The Senate returned this week, resuming legislative activity for the next two weeks until their next recess begins August 7. This is the last opportunity to pass emergency economic relief and stimulus legislation in 2020 before Congress hits the campaign trail for the November elections.
The recent House-passed HR 6800, the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act” or the “HEROES Act,” is a critically needed legislative package designed to provide economic relief to states, cities, local jurisdictions, medical front-line workers, first responders, unemployed persons, consumers, students, renters, homeowners, housing providers, and more.
The HEROES Act provides over $114 billion in funding for housing and community development programs. It includes $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, $4 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, $2 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund, and $750 million for Project Based Rental Assistance.
For this reason, CLPHA is urging members to make your voices heard toensure emergency rental assistance is included in the next economic relief and stimulus package. CLPHA is calling for the $100 billion under the Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG) to be made flexible to allow different funding portals, such as emergency single-use housing vouchers, or for other rental assistance platforms be able to allocate the funds.
CLPHA strongly encourages members to:
Urge your Senators to include housing and rental assistance in the next economic relief and stimulus package.
Ask your Senators to allow $100 billion in ESG funds from the HEROES Act be made flexible for delivery through multiple funding platforms, such as emergency single-use housing vouchers.
Without your active engagement with yourSenators, providing additional housing assistance to housing authorities will be jeopardized.
Senators must hear from you to know this is important!
For questions or additional information, contact CLPHA Legislative Director Gerard Holder at [email protected].
While housing authorities are grateful for the infusion of emergency resources under the CARES Act, it is not nearly enough to cover needs for the duration of this crisis. For this reason, CLPHA and other public housing industry groups asked members to sign on to a joint industry letter that was sent to congressional leadership asking for additional emergency funding and longer-term preservation resources for public housing and housing vouchers in the next COVID-19 economic stimulus package.
However, the joint letter is not enough!
It is critical that you follow up with your representatives and stress the need for providing additional resources to housing authorities as you work to deal with this devastating health and economic crisis.
Without youractive engagement with your Members of Congress, policymakers on Capitol Hill will give lower priority to providing additional resources to housing authorities.
CLPHA is calling on members to step up efforts to ensure our funding requests are considered by Congress and included in the next economic stimulus package.
CLPHA strongly urges members to:
1) Communicate with your Members of Congress and ask them to support including emergency funding and longer-term preservation resources for public housing and housing vouchers in the 4th COVID-19 economic stimulus legislation.
2) Ask your Members of Congress to urge the House and Senate Leadership to include emergency funding and longer-term preservation resources for public housing and housing vouchers in the 4th COVID-19 economic stimulus legislation.
For questions or additional information, contact CLPHA Legislative Director Gerard Holder at [email protected].
You can also click here to watch a webinar site tour that shows CLPHA members how to create website accounts for themselves and provides an overview of the site's functionality.
