[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2492-H2497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis impacts us all.
Regardless of whether you live in a city, a suburb, or a rural town,
many Americans are concerned about their housing stability.
Homelessness has risen every single year since 2017. The shortage of
available and affordable housing has only worsened. High interest rates
and student debt has made the American Dream of homeownership out of
reach and impossible for too many. Severely underfunded programs are
unable to tackle the most critical issues facing our communities in a
meaningful way, and wages are just not keeping pace with rising housing
costs.
The human right to housing is more than a slogan and more than just
four walls and a roof over someone's head. The human right to housing
means realizing safety and stability and dignity through housing.
I am convening tonight's Special Order hour for the Congressional
Progressive Caucus, so that I, along with my colleagues, can talk about
the housing challenges facing American households and the progressive
solutions we can champion to address this issue.
Some of those solutions are: bridging the gap between income and
housing costs and expanding and preserving the supply of affordable,
accessible rental homes for people with the lowest incomes, providing
emergency rental assistance to households in crisis, strengthening and
enforcing renter protections, and opposing efforts to undermine housing
first and criminalize homelessness.
Safe, affordable, dignified housing, I know, is a foundation on which
so much of our quality of life and our economic security is built. I
hear often that housing is just too hard to tackle at the Federal
level, but if we want to realize housing for all as a human right, we
have to challenge ourselves to move beyond traditional approaches and
embrace creativity and innovation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter).
Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, my son Paul broke my heart with a question.
He asked: Mom, will you come visit me when I grow up and live outside
of California?
I asked: Why would you want to live out of State?
It wasn't that there is somewhere else he would rather be. He was
just a teenager, a teenager already worrying that he wouldn't be able
to afford to live where he grew up. He was right to be worried.
We all face a big cost-of-living problem. Housing has become too
expensive and affordable housing altogether too scarce. The National
Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that there is a nationwide
shortage of more than 7 million affordable homes. That is not just a
problem; it is a full-blown crisis.
Washington has bungled this for decades, and nothing is changing.
Earlier this year, bipartisan House and Senate leaders promised the
biggest investment in housing that Congress has made in 35 years. Until
the deal fell apart. We are back to solving yesterday's problems
tomorrow maybe.
Washington insiders may not have a plan, but I do. Let's start with
the easiest step. Let's create a housing committee. We currently lump
housing issues into the Financial Services Committee, a body focused on
Wall Street, banking, and financial markets. However, housing is about
so much more. It is about shelter. It is about well-being. It is about
opportunity, not just about Wall Street profits.
Housing should have a dedicated committee, and then Republicans and
Democrats on that housing committee must work together to do three
related things. First, increase the supply of housing; second, make
housing easier to build; and, third, make housing more affordable.
Believe it or not, the supply part is pretty easy. Republicans and
Democrats alike actually want to increase our housing supply. You don't
have to take my word for it. Look at the Affordable Housing Credit
Improvement Act, which would enhance tax credits to build 2 million
homes over the next decade. It is publicly supported by 111 Democrats
and 111 Republicans, so let's pass that.
Why stop with tax credits? Let's unleash private capital for home
construction by guaranteeing and securitizing the construction of one-
to-four-unit starter homes, just like the government already does for
big apartment buildings built by Wall Street real estate firms.
Those are the steps that we need to take to invest in our housing
supply, but actually building those homes is still too challenging, and
it shouldn't be. Stick and brick homes are expensive. Manufacturing
costs have gone down in virtually every industry except home building.
Why aren't we copying and learning from what worked in other
industries?
Imagine a home built, at least in part, from 3D-printed materials.
Congress can invest in this type of technology and reduce building
costs by over 30 percent just by thinking creatively. All levels of
government should be partners in creative thinking. Congress should
reward counties and cities that take steps to make their building and
zoning requirements more flexible, and the Federal Government should
release some of its unused land so we can build homes on it.
With these simple steps, we can build way more affordable homes and
get those financed and built. Then we just need to figure out how to
make them affordable to own. One problem is that hedge funds have been
scooping up all of the affordable homes, especially starter homes.
We need to pass the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act and
tax Wall Street investors who purchase hundreds of homes solely for
profits. Houses should be for homeowners and mom-and-pop landlords, not
Wall Street companies looking to drive up their profits.
With the money we make from that bill, we can invest in downpayment
assistance for first-time home buyers. Often the biggest thing stopping
people from owning a home is not having the cash to pay up front for
the downpayment, even if they can afford the regular payments on that
mortgage. Downpayment assistance will solve that.
This is what a plan looks like. Congress just doesn't have one.
The United States did not wind up with a shortage of nearly 7 million
affordable homes overnight. Our housing crisis is the gradual
consequence of leaders in Washington being asleep at the wheel for over
30 years.
Well, Congress needs to wake up. Lowering people's housing costs
isn't pie in the sky. We have done it before. We did it through the GI
Bill for servicemembers, and we can do it again for all Americans. That
is what we need from Washington, and I will keep pushing to get it
done.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Porter for her
remarks. I could not agree with her more. That is why we are doing this
Special Order hour on housing. We need our Congress to wake up.
Mr. Speaker, can you imagine we were wrapping up a session, and you
had nowhere to go, you didn't have a place where you could lay your
head tonight. You had no roof over your head on the coldest day of the
year, let's assume we were in January.
The reality is that on any given night in America, more than 600,000
people experience homelessness, and nearly half of these individuals--
250,000--sleep outside. In Illinois, the average age of someone
experiencing homelessness is not 55, it is not 65, it is not 70. It is
just 9 years of age. Can you imagine having a grandchild, a son, a
sister, a niece not having anywhere to sleep at the age of 9?
Homelessness is increasing across the country because more and more
hardworking families and individuals are struggling to make ends meet;
and in the richest country in the world, rents
[[Page H2493]]
are far too expensive, wages are way too low, and decades of failed
housing policies have brought us to this point.
For example, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has found that
a full-time worker must earn $28.58 per hour to afford a modest 2-
bedroom apartment. It doesn't get much better for a modest 1-bedroom
apartment because a person would have to earn $23.67 to afford it. To
put that in perspective, Mr. Speaker, a worker earning the minimum wage
in this country would have to work 104 hours a week, which adds up to
more than 2.5 full-time jobs. That is unacceptable.
In less than a week, one of the most important housing cases in a
generation, Johnson v. Grants Pass, will be argued before the Supreme
Court. Johnson v. Grants Pass essentially asked the Court whether
cities can punish unhoused people for covering themselves with a
blanket even in the absence of shelter.
This is where we are as a Nation. We are willing to consider
criminalizing a woman with a 9-year-old child, a person experiencing
homelessness, a veteran experiencing homelessness when there is no
shelter, and they just want to cover themselves with a blanket.
{time} 1930
Luckily, the District Court and the Court of Appeals have held that
criminalizing homelessness violates the Eighth Amendment to the
Constitution, which establishes the right to be free from excessive
bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
If the Supreme Court upholds the current decision, jurisdictions
across the country will no longer be able to criminalize people for
existing when they have no place to go.
But if the Supreme Court overturns the lower courts and rules in
favor of Grants Pass it will give cities and States permission to
punish people who have nowhere else to go, other than to sleep outside.
Mr. Speaker, it is despicable that there are those who would seek to
punish our neighbors for simply trying to survive in an impossible
situation. Regardless of the ruling, homelessness is persistent
precisely because we are unwilling to act to solve the problem.
The solution is clear: Unhoused people need housing. Housing is the
answer--housing, not handcuffs.
We must bridge the gap between incomes and housing costs, build and
preserve homes that are affordable to people with the lowest incomes.
We must create permanent tools to prevent evictions and homelessness,
and we must strengthen housing-first policies, including permanent
supportive housing and rapid rehousing which are evidence-based.
Studies show that for permanent supportive housing, a rate of up to
98 percent of households retain their housing after a year--98 percent.
For rapid rehousing, that is about 75 percent, and 91 percent of
households remain housed a year after being rapidly rehoused.
Because we in Congress hold the power of the purse, we have a duty to
provide adequate funding for proven housing programs and new or
innovative revenue sources to support proven housing programs.
Look, prior to coming to Congress, I spent 20 years providing social
services and working on policy for the unhoused population in Chicago.
I witnessed firsthand the multilayered effect of not having a stable
home on our unhoused neighbors, the health outcomes, the access to
education, economic development, and more.
The bottom line is, there are many proven and data-backed solutions
to homelessness. We have no excuse. The answers are there. We just
haven't had the will to enact them. Arresting or otherwise punishing
homeless folks, veterans, and children is not a solution. Jails and
fines make the cycle of homelessness worse by taking resources away
from housing and support. It is not only a bad policy, it is cruel.
Advocating for housing not handcuffs is how we lead the progressive
fight for housing as a human right.
The Third District, Mr. Speaker, in Illinois has inspiring leaders
who have been leading the fight for housing justice. It is why, Mr.
Speaker, today I rise to honor Robert M. Adams and Dirk Enger. These
are two combat veterans who embody the essence of compassion and
service.
After years of providing assistance to servicemembers returning to
civilian life, Robert and Dirk opened the Midwest Shelter for Homeless
Veterans to help veterans suffering from homelessness.
Since 2000, the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans has been a
beacon of hope, providing vital support to our veterans in DuPage. From
affordable housing and employment assistance to service outreach,
Robert and Dirk's dream is that no veteran is left behind when it comes
to care and services they earned and they deserve.
Their commitment to building a continuum of care for our veterans is
truly inspiring, and on behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional
District, it is my great honor to commend Robert M. Adams and Dirk
Enger for their commitment to supporting our veterans and ensuring that
they receive the care our Nation promised them.
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate them.
We can't talk about homelessness without talking about the high cost
of housing. I mean, many of our constituents that I serve, nearly 40
percent in my district, are renters. In the Chicago portion of my
district, we have seen rent go up 20 percent--in some cases even
higher.
For decades, the United States has faced increasing housing costs and
declining construction. In 2022, it is estimated that 12 million
Americans are spending more than half of their income on rent and
utilities.
Now, think about that. You get your income; you get your check. You
have worked your 40, 50, 60 hours, and you look, and more than half of
it is going to rent and utilities and the rest of it probably to a car
payment, most likely to gas, student loans, and credit cards. People
are living paycheck-to-paycheck, and given what we have seen since
COVID, reduced housing supply, increasing rents, supply chain issues,
these statistics have only gotten worse.
When I was tapped to represent the resilient and diverse communities
of Illinois in the State legislature, I was clear, I am going to fight
like hell to prevent folks from losing their housing and falling into
homelessness. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I passed an
expansive housing bill that included eviction moratoriums and rental
assistance.
Mr. Speaker, we need more programs and policies that make rent
affordable for families. However, I know that staying housed is just
one piece of the puzzle. Even if people are able to remain housed, high
rent often forces people to choose between basic needs like keeping the
lights on or purchasing their medication. I mean, people are having to
choose between medication, paying for their light bill, or paying rent.
When people have to make these kinds of choices, a cycle develops.
What is that cycle, you would ask? It is the cycle of debt, poor
credit, predatory lending, and all of the distressing consequences when
unaffordable housing creates financial hardships for our families.
That is why it is more important than ever that we continue to make
housing more affordable while we also address predatory practices. We
have to expand the use of tools like alternative credit scores that
factor in rent and utility payments, and we have to regulate fees like
late credit card fees.
I was so encouraged to hear that last month the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, the CFPB, they finalized a rule to cut excessive
credit card late fees that cost American families more than $14 billion
a year. By reducing the typical fee from $32 down to $8, more than 45
million people will experience an average savings of--are you ready--
$220 per year.
Consumer protections are part of how we help families navigate
financial security in the face of housing stability, but we also have
to recognize the important role that the Fair Housing Act plays in
protecting tenants and prospective homebuyers from housing
discrimination and predatory landlords.
The year 2024 marks the 56th anniversary of the passage of the
Federal Fair Housing Act. Today, serving in this Congress, it seems
almost impossible that people can come together to set a national
policy of fair housing that bars discrimination based on race, color,
religion, national origin, gender, familial status or disability--but
we did. And the need is greater than ever.
[[Page H2494]]
According to the National Fair Housing Alliance's 2023 Fair Housing
Trends Report there were 33,007 fair housing complaints received in
2022; the highest number of complaints ever reported in a single year.
Overall complaints were 5.7 percent higher than the previous year,
and complaints based on source of income and domestic violence
significantly increased.
While this legislation is still relevant 56 years later, I would
argue it could use an update.
In Illinois, the Human Rights Act, which is 45 years old this year,
also bars discrimination in housing based on sex, including sexual
harassment, age, ancestry, marital status, military status, unfavorable
discharge from military service, sexual orientation, gender-related
identity, order of protection status, arrest record, source of income,
or immigration status.
Here is what I know: If housing is a human right, then we must root
out housing discrimination and predatory practice whenever we find it.
I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bowman) to speak a little
bit more about this housing work across this country and what must be
done.
Mr. BOWMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership,
and I thank her for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I am telling America, the rent is too damn high. I
repeat, the rent is too damn high. It remains too damn high for the
majority of Americans.
We believe very strongly that housing is a human right. Every single
person in our country should have access to affordable housing--housing
that is truly affordable.
If you work full time in our country, you should be able to afford
clean, respectful, dignified, adequate housing. No American should
spend more than 20 percent of their salary toward rent and/or
mortgages.
In my district, you have people paying 30, 40, 50, 60, even 70
percent of their salaries toward rent. How can you afford
transportation? How can you afford childcare? How can you afford
education or to get your child tutoring or to take additional courses
for yourself? How can you afford to put your child in martial arts or
science or arts or music programs when the majority of your money is
going toward rent?
In Westchester County where the majority of my district resides, you
need to make $40 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. That
means you will be working 2.6 minimum wage jobs, and you will not have
discretionary income. You will not have an exemplary quality of life,
which should be the goal of this Congress; to make sure that everyone
in our country has their basic needs met, beginning with housing.
President Biden recently announced a rent cap in properties that use
the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. That is a huge help for millions of
Americans. We thank President Biden--huge shout-out to him. But we need
for the President to go further and regulate rent across the country.
He should use his authority to cap rent at any property with a
federally backed mortgage, which Senator Warren and I have joined
tenant leaders in proposing.
I want to give a huge shout-out to community voices heard who are
organizing for tenants in Yonkers, in the Bronx, and all throughout
Westchester County. I want to give a huge shout-out to Evelyn Santiago,
who is organizing for tenants in White Plains, and throughout
Westchester County. I want to give a shout-out to Jeanette Garcia who
is working and organizing with United Yonkers for tenants' rights.
As development goes up, we have to make sure rent remains truly
affordable for the working class. We should not be allowing the
displacement or the gentrification of the most vulnerable in our
communities. I want to give a huge shout-out to Westhab. We have worked
very closely with them to give them millions of dollars to build and
sustain affordable housing for seniors and others in Yonkers and in
places all over the county and the district.
We need a Green New Deal for public housing. We have to rebuild our
public housing stock. The Federal Government has disinvested in public
housing for decades, and over the last 10 years there has not been a
dime given to public housing. We need new public social housing in
alignment with our climate goals.
We also need to support Representative Omar's bill, the Housing for
All Act, to invest a trillion dollars over the next 10 years to make
sure that everyone has a home.
For those who are unhoused and may need supportive housing, we need
to build that, too.
America used to be the country of big ideas, but we need to make sure
we implement these big ideas for marginalized people and marginalized
communities because housing is a human right, and the rent is too damn
high.
We still have so many people in our country, millions, not just
unemployed, but underemployed--under employed.
{time} 1945
Housing costs are through the roof. Food costs are through the roof.
Utilities costs--``Ay, Dios mio''; ``Oh, my God''--are through the
roof. People can't afford childcare.
We are creating a permanent underclass because we do not have a bold
vision as a United States Congress. The only way our democracy is going
to work for everyone is if we focus on equity. Step one is to focus on
equity to make sure everyone has a clean, dignified, respectful, clean
energy home. That should be our goal. That should be our mission.
I thank Representative Ramirez for her leadership and vision for
housing in our country. Her leadership in Chicago and all throughout
the State of Illinois and our country is astounding. She inspires women
across this country. She inspires Latinas across this country. She
inspires people of color across this country. She inspires me.
I am a sophomore Representative, and she is a freshman. I look up to
her and ask her to please continue to share her bold vision with the
people of America.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right--``Ay,
Dios mio''; ``Oh, my God''--the rent is too darn high.
Today, we heard from Members from California and Congressman Bowman
from New York.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms.
Omar).
Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, ``Mashallah,'' ``God has willed it,'' to
Representative Jamal Bowman for that incredible speech and for giving a
shout-out to my Homes for All Act.
I thank Representative Ramirez for yielding and for bringing all of
us together to be able to advocate for housing.
Mr. Speaker, in the richest nation on Earth, it is a moral failure
that we have a housing crisis, but moral victories are not won by words
but by urgent actions and bold policies. Fortunately, our localities
are stepping up with sensible housing reforms and creative development
models.
In Minneapolis, our Public Housing Authority just unveiled its
largest development in decades. The Minneapolis Public Housing
Authority created 84 new units that are deeply affordable family
housing across Minneapolis, using an innovative modular construction
approach that cut development time by 30 percent.
In Montgomery County, local leaders created their own version of an
affordable housing development by setting up a revolving loan fund to
develop dense, mixed-income, municipally owned housing. Now, their
public developer model is being replicated in other communities across
the country.
These local initiatives are vital to strengthening housing
affordability, but they need more support. The solution to our housing
shortage cannot be piecemeal. It demands a combination of local
innovation and bold Federal leadership.
Congress cannot sit on the sidelines. We have the responsibility and
capacity to solve this crisis. We can start by authorizing significant
Federal funding and public financing options for true public and social
housing.
That is why I will be reintroducing the Homes for All Act, to
transform what housing could look like in the United States, rooted in
the right reforms and priorities. It repeals the Faircloth amendment
allowing public housing authorities to build more housing on a massive
scale, like we once did in times of great need.
To ensure Federal disinvestment and neglect does not happen again,
the bill
[[Page H2495]]
also converts public housing operating and capital expenses into
mandatory spending.
It makes historic investments in our housing stock, building 8.5
million new public housing units and 3.5 million new private housing
units for working-class families.
Finally, my bill would establish a fund to help localities develop
pro-housing programs that can also prevent residential segregation and
displacement.
Congress needs to play a more active and direct role in strengthening
our housing supply. This includes making sure that public and private
dollars for affordable housing are used effectively and equitably by
supporting local zoning reform and robust tenant protections. Such
policies can work together, if crafted carefully.
Last Congress, Senator Merkley and I introduced the Affordable HOME
Act to provide that comprehensive approach to ensuring housing
construction and acquisition efforts are fair, inclusive, and
sustainable. For renters and first-time home buyers, this legislation
provides robust funding for direct rental assistance and downpayment
assistance. This bill also establishes programs for a national right of
first refusal and right to counsel and bans source-of-income
discrimination and no-cause evictions.
For people experiencing homelessness, the bill provides billions of
dollars in funding for permanent supportive housing, not only covering
capital costs but also expanding rental subsidies and wraparound
services.
For communities, the bill invests in innovative housing models, such
as resident-owned cooperatives and community land trusts.
My bills are only a couple of examples that could help guarantee
housing as a human right.
I am proud to share this floor with my dedicated colleagues who have
championed housing policies that are centered on the needs of our
communities and advocates.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to shout-out Representative Esther Agbaje,
Representative Aisha Gomez, Representative Mike Howard, and
Representative Hodan Hassan, who are leading the charge in the State of
Minnesota to make sure housing is available for all. Everyone deserves
access to a safe and stable place to live.
I thank Representative Ramirez for her great partnership in this
important fight.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, the truth is, as I hear my colleague from
Minnesota (Ms. Omar) talk, there are bills prepared to bring solutions
to this issue. What we need in Congress is the will and courage to
prioritize our communities. I thank her for her leadership.
Mr. Speaker, the work that we do can't be done without the people on
the ground who are constantly working to make sure that the people who
need to be seen are seen and heard. These are leaders in our community
that often are unsung heroes but that do all the work so that Members
of Congress, like me, could be here.
It is why I rise today to recognize my constituent, Catherine Serpa,
who is a local organizer living her commitment to safe and dignified
affordable housing.
Serpa is a resident of Chicago's Housing Authority's public housing,
knowing firsthand the challenges families in Chicago and around the
Nation face when it comes to affordable housing. As president of the
North Central Scattered Sites, she has worked tirelessly to organize
her neighbors, including Section 8 voucher recipients, to protect their
rights as tenants.
Serving on the board of the Central Advisory Council, Catherine
brings the voice, the perspectives, and the concerns of neighbors
living in public housing to ensure that they are represented in the
decisions that impact them daily. Her work has been central to ensuring
public housing residents have clean, dignified, well-maintained homes
and is a key voice in strengthening my legislation, the Tenants' Right
to Organize Act.
On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my great
honor to commend Catherine Serpa for her contributions to our community
and her commitment to housing for all. I thank and congratulate
Catherine.
Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to commend my constituent, a leader,
an inspiration, Jose Zayas, for his more than five decades of service
and activism in our communities to realize housing as a human right.
Jose's family migrated from Puerto Rico in the 1950s. They moved into
Lathrop Homes, a historic public housing development on the northwest
side of the city.
Jose made strong connections with his neighbors as he grew up, and he
became a staunch defender of the community and a steward of the strong
generational relationships built there.
For years, progress in redeveloping Lathrop Homes to provide hundreds
more promised apartments has stalled. While the fight has been long,
Jose's leadership has been constant. He has been a committed advocate,
testifying, marching, and calling for accountability. As a Lathrop
alumni leader, he has consistently held public officials accountable to
do more to preserve and protect public affordable housing.
On behalf of Illinois' Third Congressional District, it is my great
honor to commend Jose Zayas for his leadership and commitment to fight
for public and affordable housing for our communities. I thank Jose,
and it is my honor to congratulate him with this congressional
commendation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Robert
Garcia), my friend, to continue to hear about the work that needs to be
done around housing throughout the country and the ways that Congress
can actually act.
Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative
Ramirez for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, our Nation faces a severe housing crisis, and it is time
for Congress to start working on real solutions for working families.
We know that we are facing a shortage of 3 million homes across the
country. That is unacceptable, and the deficit has led to years of
rising costs for every American.
Housing is a human right, but today, there are millions of people
with no access to a safe home, no access to a stable home, and this is
happening in cities and towns across America. We know that millions
more are at risk.
In 2020, almost half of American renters were forced to spend more
than 30 percent of their income just on housing, and 23 percent were
forced to spend more than half their income on rent.
We just know that rent is too damn high. This is unacceptable, and it
is the single biggest driver of our country's homelessness crisis.
In places like L.A. County that I represent, and in communities
across America, rents are going up and housing stock is becoming more
and more difficult. We know that working families and middle-class
families have less and less access to not just buying a home but even
renting a home that they can afford.
We know the most vulnerable constituents are facing the most severe
consequences of this crisis, and it impacts especially Black, Brown,
and low-income communities across America.
We also know it is a crisis for seniors and for people on a fixed
income who can't keep up with skyrocketing housing costs. It is
impacting young people, who are entering the job market and starting
families but realizing, sadly, that they will never be able to afford a
home.
For the past 70 years, being able to buy a home and build wealth has
been the gateway to the middle class for millions of families. It has
made the American Dream possible for so many generations, but now we
are allowing that American Dream to crumble.
The shortage of affordable housing is estimated to cost us
approximately $2 trillion a year due to lower wages and productivity.
We need to build more housing.
Housing is a social justice issue. Housing is a climate issue. We
know that communities that adopt smart housing policies can build more
affordable housing.
Not only does our Federal Government need to invest in more housing,
in more vouchers, in more affordability, and focus on more not just
local but national tenant protections, but we also need to take a smart
approach to growth.
Mr. Speaker, that is why, last year, I also introduced the People
Over Parking Act to eliminate minimum parking
[[Page H2496]]
requirements near high-quality public transit. For those who don't
know, parking minimums force property owners to create a certain number
of spaces regardless of the needs of the people who live in those
homes.
{time} 2000
In fact, parking minimums are oftentimes the single largest driver of
housing costs across America, leading to less and less affordable
housing. Additionally, many of these spaces go unused, even as the
financial costs are passed on to renters and tenants, even folks that
may not even own a car.
We need to reduce parking minimums. We need to increase density
across the country. We need to look at our zoning to ensure that we can
spur more multifamily units and developments across neighborhoods and
across communities in this country.
We must expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and invest in
housing that is affordable and accessible. That is what the Low-Income
Housing Tax Credit can do.
Let's pass commonsense policies. Let's protect renters and tenants.
Let's ensure that neighborhoods are for everyone and that folks have
access to the middle class. Housing is a human right.
Mrs. RAMIREZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Garcia for his words.
He is absolutely right. The rent is too damn high.
With skyrocketing inflation and increasing rents, tenants are often
finding themselves in a vicious cycle of being rent burdened and
vulnerable to unfair housing prices.
While the Fair Housing Act and other nondiscrimination work is
critically important, we know most incidents of housing discrimination
go undetected or they go unreported.
Marginalized communities, especially nonnative English speakers, new
arrivals, immigrants, Black and Brown people, can be afraid to speak
out against unfair discriminatory housing policies because they fear
retaliation. That is why the protection of tenant unions and tenant
organizing rights are critical. Every tenant should be able to use
their voice to address the concerns they have regarding their housing
situation. This is why I was proud to lead my friends and colleagues,
Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Jimmy Gomez, and
Greg Casar, in the introduction of the Tenants' Right to Organize Act,
a historic measure that protects and expands the community power,
changing the landscape of housing for everyone.
This is what it will do. It protects the organizing rights of tenants
with housing vouchers and tenants living in Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit properties and expands protections to mixed-status families and
those who may not be eligible for tenant-based rental assistance.
All tenants must have the right to organize, and protecting and
strengthening tenant organizing and protecting tenants' unions is
another way that we help people stay housed.
I also give a shout-out to Representative Norma Hernandez in the
State legislature in Illinois who has an identical bill in the State
House to begin doing this work specifically in Illinois. We are so
grateful for Representative Norma Hernandez's work.
The truth is that in parts of my district, gentrification is a dire
threat to housing as a human right. It drives up housing costs,
displaces families, and destroys webs of relationships and community
history. That is why I am so inspired with the work of Palenque LSNA, a
predominantly Latine community-based organization in Illinois 3.
Palenque's youth and mother leaders have fought to resist displacement
and addressed gentrification by expanding community control of local
land use and zoning.
In much the same way that we protect renters' and homeowners' rights
at the Federal level, I encourage us to be inspired by the work of the
organizations like Palenque to encourage the models of the future that
help us think beyond the status quo, community control, community
landownership, and collective financial models, because I know that
those are the ways of the future.
As we think about our future, we have to reckon with the consequences
of climate change on our collective housing stability. For instance, in
my district, polar vortexes are more frequent, and lower average
temperatures requires more heat which increases the household's energy
consumption and associated expenses. Even if we stabilize rents and
make housing more affordable, we also have to address how climate
change and climate inaction puts us all at risk.
It is why we have to realize both policy action and investments to
secure the future of our public housing, prioritize climate and racial
justice, and boost our economy and labor force. It is why I am proud to
stand with Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Sanders in
introducing the Green New Deal for Public Housing, a bold solution to
confront unprecedented challenges.
The sweeping legislation aims to retrofit, rehabilitate, expand, and
decarbonize the entire Nation's public housing stock through an
estimated $162 to $234 billion investment over the next 10 years.
While we must consider how we future-proof our housing against
climate uncertainty, we have to pay particular attention to ensure that
the 1.6 million people who live in our Nation's public housing are
protected.
Working families continue to invest in our communities. They work,
shop, eat, worship, learn, and play in our neighborhoods and towns.
They deserve to be rooted and deeply connected to the people and places
that shape them. That includes the power to put down roots in the
communities that they have lived. That requires long-term affordability
for long-term stability.
The solutions we look for are already in our communities. From
Humboldt Park to West Chicago, leaders, neighbors, and organizations
are working in solidarity to create affordable housing opportunities.
Our role is to expand and support their efforts with transformative
investments and commonsense legislation that prioritizes our
communities. That is how we lead the progressive fight for housing as a
human right.
That is why I am so grateful for the leadership of people who have
grown up in the community and continue to do the work to get us closer
to housing as a human right.
It is why, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent,
Lissette Castaneda. She is an experienced and trailblazing voice for
fair housing.
From the Hermosa neighborhood, Lissette Castaneda has dedicated more
than 15 years of her life to helping the members of our community find
a place they can call home, to keep families safely housed, and to
fight for the creation of affordable housing and vibrant communities.
As the former executive director of LUCHA, an affordable housing
organization serving my district, Lissette has uplifted the voices and
the perspectives of longtime residents in our communities to fight for
the housing and resources they need to thrive.
In February, Lissette Castaneda made history by being appointed and
confirmed as the very first ever Latina Commissioner of the Department
of Housing in Chicago's history. I have been honored to work with her
for many years as we fight to maintain and expand affordable housing. I
know that Commissioner Castaneda will serve our communities well,
fighting tirelessly for all Chicagoans to have safe and dignified
housing.
On behalf of Illinois's Third Congressional District, it is my great
honor to commend Lissette Castaneda for her visionary leadership and
her service to our communities. I congratulate her.
I also rise today, Mr. Speaker, to honor Sally Hamann and Dr. Anne
Scheetz, community activists for the preservation of affordable housing
who exemplify the true spirit of solidarity.
For more than a decade, Sally and Anne have been strong supporters of
our community's fight for housing affordability and accessibility.
In a time when gentrification threatens to erode the fabric of our
communities, they have demonstrated what solidarity and fraternity look
like.
To support the cause of affordable homeownership, Sally and Anne
donated their homes to a community land trust, the Here to Stay
Community Land Trust, to ensure they remain affordable home options.
How many people would donate their home so that another family can have
the dream of owning a home?
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Through their actions and the land trust's mission, longtime
residents will now find access to affordable homeownership, ensuring
that families with roots in Logan Square can continue to thrive and
flourish in the neighborhood they call home.
On behalf of Illinois's Third Congressional District, it is my great
honor to commend Dr. Anne Scheetz and Sally Hamann for their decades of
activism, solidarity, and actionable commitment. Sally and Anne are a
true inspiration for Congress. I congratulate them.
I have talked a lot today about the importance of addressing
homelessness, not criminalizing people experiencing homelessness. We
have talked about the importance of rental housing, creating it, and
legislation that actually creates a solution. We certainly know that
there is so much work to be done around homeownership, and this
Congress has the ability to actually make it possible for people to be
able to have housing as a human right.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who have joined me tonight for the
Progressive Caucus Special Order hour, as we talked about the
progressive fight for housing as a human right.
Tonight, we have heard from courageous leaders about the work they
are doing. You heard about people in my district, inspiring leaders who
are literally giving their life so that others can have housing as a
human right.
There is power in being rooted. When we are rooted in ways that
nurture safety, dignity, security, love, and joy, Mr. Speaker, we
bloom, our community blooms, our neighborhoods bloom.
This Fair Housing Month, I call on us to reaffirm our commitment to
homeownership as an accessible American Dream, to housing for all as a
just social security and to housing as a human right regardless of race
and gender.
Before we wrap up, Mr. Speaker, I do want to take a moment to talk
about a situation that is weighing very heavily on my heart. For over 2
years, Ukrainians' way of living and democracy have been under attack
by a dictator, a war monger, and an extremist. While this country
promised to stand by them, we have failed to deliver the aid they
desperately need to protect their homes, to care for their wounded and
sick, and to recover from Putin's attacks.
To my Ukrainian constituents whose families and hearts are still in
Ukraine, know that I stand ready to vote in favor of standalone
legislation that provides assistance and humanitarian aid to
Ukrainians. I call on my colleagues to bring Ukrainian aid to the floor
without conditioning support on the well-being of asylum-seekers or the
lives in Palestine or any other poison pill. We have to support
Ukrainian families without delay, and we can do that today.
As I wrap up, Mr. Speaker, I realize that today is a special day.
Coming to Congress and sometimes having extended sessions, it means
that we may be missing important days back at home. Today, April 17, is
a very important day for the love of my life. Today is the birthday of
Boris Noel Hernandez, my better half. On this House floor, I want to
wish him a very happy birthday.
I also thank the staff who have worked so diligently to make sure
that we can do this work, that we can move legislation. I want to give
a special thank you to Katherine Bray, who is working with me today and
to the leaders across the country.
To the people that are just a moment from homelessness, know that
while I am here and while the Congressional Progressive Caucus stands,
we will fight like hell every single day until housing becomes a human
right in this Congress, in this State, in this country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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