128.cfm
Press Room
NAHRO: America Needs a Comprehensive Housing Strategy
Contact: Mary
Barron, 202-289-3500 ext. 7223
WASHINGTON, January 28--
These are challenging times for housing in
America. Recognizing this, we are pleased that the
Administration is working to address the current housing
foreclosure crisis in a timely manner, and that the President
addressed this issue in his State of the Union remarks.
However, we believe that the nation’s
housing needs extend far beyond the parameters of this crisis.
Providing new affordable rental housing, preserving our existing
inventory of affordable housing, addressing the needs of the
nation’s homeless, and ensuring that families live in safe
and vibrant communities are but a few of the issues we had hoped
the President would address. We regret that the President’s
remarks this evening did not go far enough to offer a
comprehensive housing strategy for America. The nation’s
housing concerns have been well documented over many years and
are critical to many working families, seniors and the disabled.
In a recent poll conducted by Zogby International for the Housing
America 2007 campaign, nine out of ten Americans cited affordable
housing as a high priority; one-third of respondents cited it as
their number one priority.
To begin to address the wider array of
housing concerns we face, the National Association of Housing and
Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) has put forth recommendations
with respect to the development of an economic stimulus package.
We believe these recommendations would provide a powerful and
immediate economic stimulus locally; help to preserve the
physical integrity of the existing affordable housing stock; and
sustain the infrastructure of communities. NAHRO believes that
the stimulus package now under consideration should include
direct funding to ensure the long-term viability and continuing
availability of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income
families. We respectfully offer the following recommendations:
- Up to $800 million in supplemental public housing
operating subsidy;
- Up to $500 million in public housing capital funding to
be expended within 12 months of receipt; and
- Up to $1 billion for the CDBG program conditioned upon
expenditure within 12 months of receipt, with
encouragement to local governments to expend significant
portions of this funding for housing counseling and other
programs to help ameliorate the present home mortgage
crisis.
“Our nation’s affordable housing
inventory is a vital part of the nation’s infrastructure,”
said NAHRO President Ren�e Rooker. “Acting on these
recommendations would fulfill a vital and necessary public policy
objective, create jobs and ensure safe, decent housing in viable
communities for Americans. NAHRO looks forward to working with
the Administration and Congress to achieve these vital goals.”
| 
