Legislative & Policy

The City of New York is spearheading a sign-on letter for Mayors and municipal leaders across the country to request more funding for public housing from Congress. The letter thanks Congress for passing a bipartisan budget agreement which increases spending levels for domestic programs. With this increase, Mayor Bill de Blasio is asking Mayors and municipal leaders to call on Congress to support the effort to increase public housing funding. The letter calls on Congress to increase the Public Housing Capital Fund to $5 billion and to fund the Public Housing Operating Fund at 100 percent proration. "Increasing funding for these two essential programs will help ensure that nearly one million families will continue to have access to safe, decent, and affordable housing. It will also provide PHAs across the country with much-needed resources to operate and maintain the public housing stock in our communities." ACTION: CLPHA encourages member PHAs to contact your Mayors and municipal leaders and ask them to join the City of New York's Public Housing Letter as a co-signer.  For more information or to join as a cosigner please directly contact Crystal Price with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office at [email protected] or (202)624-5909 or use this direct link to join the Public Housing Letter. The deadline to join as a cosigner is Monday, September 16th COB.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is leading an effort in the Senate to boost FY20 funding for public housing. His office has asked CLPHA for help in encouraging other Senators to sign onto the letter to the Appropriations Committee requesting full funding of the Public Housing Operating Fund at 100 percent proration, $5 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund, and $200 million for the Choice Neighborhoods program.

The following messages are being sent to other U.S. Senators:

 

PUBLIC HOUSING:

Sen. Menendez is inviting other Senators to sign a Dear Colleague letter in support of the Public Housing Operating Fund and the Public Housing Capital Fund. The letter requests full funding of the Public Housing Operating Fund at 100 percent proration and $5 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund. The Operating Fund provides the subsidies necessary to cover the difference between the rents paid by residents and the operating costs of the property. According to HUD, their request represents a 54 percent proration of formula eligibility for Operating Funds and eliminates the Capital Fund.

Please encourage your Senators to sign on by contacting Erika Calderon at [email protected].

 

CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS:

Sen. Menendez is inviting other Senators to sign a Dear Colleague letter in support of $200 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods program.

The Choice Neighborhoods program holds great promise as a way to improve economic opportunity, reduce concentrated poverty, and revitalize distressed communities.  The program’s targeting of local community planning and implementation generates a ripple effect, attracting new private investment to the revived communities.  For Fiscal Year’s 2010-2015, the program leveraged outside investment at a more than seven to one ratio, bringing in an additional $3.69 billion.  The requested funding for FY 2020 would allow the Department to fund five to ten Planning and Action Grants, to be allocated through a competitive process, and six Implementation Grants.

The President’s FY20 budget eliminates funding for the Choice Neighborhoods program.

Please encourage your Senators to sign on by contacting Erika Calderon at [email protected].