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Press Room

State of the Union Does Not Address Affordable Housing Crisis: Public Housing Program at Risk

Contact: Mary Barron, 202-289-3500 ext. 7223

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 -- President Bush addressed several critical challenges facing our country in his State of the Union address, challenges which deserve our attention and our best efforts to resolve them. However, notably absent from the President's list of priorities were the administration's plans to address the undeniable shortage of affordable housing. Long-term disinvestment in federal housing assistance programs has begun to take a toll on our ability to address unmet housing needs. We must make an immediate and concerted effort to meet the needs of people who are on long waiting lists or paying more than half their income for housing.

As a nation, we have fallen woefully short of the promise set forth in the 1937 Housing Act-"to remedy the unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions and the acute shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for families of lower income." For 75 years, a vital component to meeting this promise has been the public housing program. The President's FY 2007 budget proposed $1.5 billion less than was provided for FY 2000; estimated funding for current fiscal year operations is at 76 cents on the dollar. Housing authorities have resorted to pay cuts, concessions, layoffs and reductions in service to residents, and have lost their ability to cope with unforeseen circumstances. At this point, there is no room left in their budgets to cut. The next step may be the boarding up and shutting down of critically-needed housing.

"A key factor in determining the state of our union is how we are meeting the needs of our nation's working poor, elderly and disabled," said Saul N. Ramirez, Jr., Executive Director of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). "We must make public and affordable housing a national priority and put a stop to a trend of disinvestment that is undermining our ability to provide safe, decent and affordable housing for all Americans."

For more information on public housing funding, view the charts located online at http://www.nahro.org/charts.pdf or the Paying the Price brochure at http://www.nahro.org/legislative/nahro_public_housing.pdf. NAHRO also has experts on the public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs available for further comment on the State of the Union address and the public housing crisis. Contact Mary Barron at 202-289-3500 ext. 7223 to schedule interviews.