Closing the Housing Gap Diane Yentel President and CEO National Low Income Housing Coalition @dianeyentel

Federal budget for low-income housing, in billions

Thanks to your partnership and your powerful advocacy, together we achieved – at this time last year - a 10% increase to HUD’s budget, a feat not seen since the foreclosure crisis. A 10% increase is, on its own, impressive. But considering we started the process with the administration proposing a 15% CUT to HUD’s programs, and that we accomplished the increase under a Republican-led White House and Congress, it really puts that accomplishment into perspective. That win was followed by our equally important win this year maintaining the increase. We often talk about our budget wins in terms of percentages. Let’s talk instead about people. Because of you and your advocacy on the budget, 50,000 low-income people with disabilities, veterans and youth experiencing homelessness will have new housing vouchers. Because of you, an additional 30,000 people experiencing homelessness will have homes, from increases to HUD’s McKinney-Vento Grants. Because of you, 1000 new homes for poor seniors will be built with the first new funding for Section 202 housing construction in 8 years. We still have a long way to go to reverse the last decade’s cuts to all these programs -- but we’ve turned a corner and reversed the steady decline in federal investments..

We are tracking every HTF dollar to ensure the funds are used efficiently, effectively and as quickly as possible to house those most in need. The first year’s HTF allocation has led, so far, to the creation of nearly 2,000 new rental homes for extremely low-income people. These new apartments are home for some of our country’s most vulnerable families – youth aging out of foster care, people who are chronically homeless, veterans with traumatic brain injuries, survivors of domestic violence. And this newest housing program is just getting started – states are gearing up to use their second and third funding installments, and a fourth is on its way. So the bad news is… The good news is, we can choose to end homelessness. We have the data, the solutions and, as a country, the resources. We lack only the political will to fund the solutions…

Two years ago, we held the first Our Homes, Our Voices National Housing Week of Action. Organizations and low-income residents across the country hosted about 60 events - rallies, press conferences, letter-writing campaigns, and other events to let their members of Congress know the importance of affordable homes. During last year’s Our Homes, Our Voices week of Action we doubled our impact – together, you held over 130 events in more than 64 communities, with 90 members of Congress participating in week of action events throughout the country. This year’s Week of Action is May 30-June 5, 2019 – so mark your calendars and start planning your events. Together we’ll continue to urge Congress to make a bold and sustained commitment to ensure that everyone has a safe, accessible and affordable home. Events like these, and your work throughout the year to educate the public and policy makers about the crisis and its solutions is clearly having an impact – we are breaking through and elevating the conversation in the national dialogue in powerful ways.

One was we build the political will is by expanding…

Steering Committee @OppStartsatHome #OpportunityStartsatHome www.opportunityhome.org

Telling the Story: Affordable Housing in the News One way we can measure the impact we’re having in changing the national conversation is through media stories that we help shape – at NLIHC we measure that by the number of stories that that quote our staff or cite our research- much of that happens through our partnerships with all of you. In 2016, together we contributed to about 2,000 media stories. In 2017, it was about 4,000. And last year, we shaped over 6,100 stories on the housing crisis and its solutions. That’s in part a reflection of the severity of the housing crisis itself – but the housing crisis was pretty bad two years ago too, so it’s more than that. And these stories are telling the true housing crisis, the one that starts and ends with the lowest income renters – that’s our collective impact. It’s so important – because, as you know, how we tell the stories is essential to what policies move forward, what solutions are achieved, and who is centered in those solutions. For all of us – it must be the lowest income people.

Big, Bold Housing Bills Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Together, we’ve changed the conversation of what’s possible to achieve. We’ve worked closely with Members of Congress who are suddenly and increasingly willing not just to work around the edges of the housing crisis, but instead to advance bold, ambitious solutions to tackle it head on. The size and scope of these housing bills are unlike anything we’ve seen in generations. Senators Warren and Gillibrand, along with several leaders in the House are proposing $45 billion/year in funding for the Housing Trust Fund to create 3 million new deeply affordable apartments over 10 years. Senators Booker and Harris proposed renters tax credits to give housing cost-burdened low-income families a needed tax break. Other big housing bills are coming soon – I can’t wait for you to see them - and they are equally ambitious and badly needed. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX)

So we are changing the narrative and building the political will - and just in time for the 2020 presidential election. After decades of chronic underinvestment by Congress, it is remarkable that presidential hopefuls are now using their platforms to elevate the housing crisis for the lowest income people, and its solutions. This year, in part because of the severity of the crisis itself and in large part because of our collective work to create pressure for solutions, major candidates are talking up their housing proposals in living rooms and town halls in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and beyond. In fact, in these first early months of this presidential election season, we’ve seen more attention on affordable housing policy than we have in entire presidential campaigns in history. It’s truly remarkable!