WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today hailed the passage
of H.R. 202, a bill designed to increase housing opportunities for low-income
seniors and persons with disabilities.
"We
have been witnessing a steady decrease in available subsidized housing
for seniors and persons with disabilities, and today's action is a very
important step in our efforts to avert a looming housing crisis," Schakowsky
said.
Twenty-five
years ago, the federal government contracted with private landlords to
provide affordably priced housing to low and fixed income households.
The program is known as Section 8. Two-thirds of the contracts are
set to expire in the next five years. Due to a booming economy and
other factors, some landlords are dropping out of the program to seek higher
rents in the private sector.
The
bill would increase funding for housing programs by $71 million.
The bill would also provide building owners with incentives to stay in
the program. In addition, the bill would give "market-level" vouchers
for tenants to stay in their homes even if the building no longer participates
in the Section 8 program and authorize funds to assist nonprofit organizations
in purchasing and maintaining government-subsidized housing.
The
bill also included an amendment offered by Schakowsky during last week's
Banking Committee markup. The amendment calls on HUD to reexamine
its current grant formula to ensure that organizations building senior
housing receive adequate funding.
"The
current formula is skewed toward large scale projects and puts smaller,
more livable housing developments at a disadvantage," Schakowsky said.
Currently,
HUD determines grants based on the cost of construction. HUD's formula
assumes that large developments are built and that projects receive savings
from economies of scale. However, today's projects tend to be smaller
and more livable, but do not enjoy financial savings from economies of
scale. Consequently, grant awards are sometimes inadequate.
"It's
time for a change. This amendment would require HUD to study both
the economic and social benefits of smaller and moderate-sized housing
development. This would give us the necessary information to develop
a new and sufficient grant formula. We should provide the necessary
funds to build housing for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities,
no matter the size of project," Schakowsky added.
On
Sunday, Schakowsky announced more than $2 million in additional funding
for Ebenezer Church to begin a project that was scheduled to start three
years ago, but was delayed because of insufficient funds.
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