Affordable Housing

The lack of affordable housing for low and moderate income families is the nation's No. 1 housing problem. This problem endangers family security and community stability on a national level. Slow wage increases and rising rents have made it nearly impossible for many renters to adequately house themselves and their families. More and more low and moderate income households are using over 50 percent of their earnings for rent. At the same time, many are seeing their average monthly income decline and their rent payments increase disproportionately.

Millions of low and moderate income renters are also not receiving the sufficient rental assistance they need to maintain a sustainable living. Despite the considerable squeeze and growing need for help, many families do not receive federal rent assistance from HUD. In fact, federal housing assistance reaches only about one in four income-eligible households.

In New York, our affordable housing stock is rapidly diminishing. We continue to lose affordable apartments when building owners opt out of a HUD ''Section 8'' program that guarantees rent payments to owners who lease to low-income tenants.

As your representative in Washington, rest assured that I am committed doing what I can to protect, maintain and increase affordable housing in central Brooklyn.

Public Housing
Public housing makes living in New York possible for thousands of low-income families. Public housing has preserved economic diversity in many parts of the city where skyrocketing rents have forced low-income people from all walks of live out of the area. A recent article reported that the average family income in public housing is about $20,000 annually and the average rent is $320. There are 343 public housing developments including almost 2,700 buildings and according to the New York City Housing Authority, it provides homes to more than 400,000 New Yorkers. However, the waiting list to get in is long, with over 130,000 people. I am committed to exploring and examining new strategies, initiatives, and policies to expand and preserve public housing so that low-income individuals in central Brooklyn can attain a sustainable quality of life.

Housing market
The collapse in the housing market has negatively impacted countless individuals including people in New York City. The rise in housing prices was fueled by new mortgage products that allowed people to buy homes with no down payment upfront. Many of these loans did not require income verification. Then the mortgages were packaged and sold as securities to financial institutions. A credit crunch erupted when many people failed to repay their loans.

Last year, about 50 percent of all mortgagors spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, including mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities. Additionally, more than one quarter paid over 50 percent.

But what is alarming is that for Hispanics, Blacks and Asians, the figures were even higher. Half of Hispanics paid at least 37 percent and one quarter spent 81 percent or more. For Blacks, the figures were 44 percent and 71 percent, and for Asians the figures were 38 and 63 percent.

I will continue to be a voice for those in central Brooklyn seeking to own their home as well as those in the rental community. For that reason I have supported various bills that support and protect homeowners and renters alike.

Co-Sponsored Bills:
H.R. 3385 - National Homelessness Task Force Act of 2007 - Establishes in the legislative branch a National Homelessness Task Force to: (1) analyze reports by federal, state, and local agencies and academic institutions relating to homelessness; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of federal programs addressing homelessness, particularly their interaction with state and local entities which also address homelessness; (3) analyze options and make recommendations to alleviate the causes and effects of such homelessness; and (4) conduct related research and develop methods to improve, federal, state, and local agency coordination.

H.R. 3081 - Fairness for Homeowners Act of 2007 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit any creditor or mortgage broker from making, providing, or arranging for any consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's principal dwelling without verifying the consumer's reasonable ability to make the scheduled payments of principal, interest (including variable interest), real estate taxes, homeowner's insurance, assessments, and mortgage insurance premiums.

H.R. 2930 - Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2007 - Amends the Housing Act of 1959 regarding project rental assistance for supportive housing for the elderly.

H.R. 2926 - Housing Fairness Act of 2007 - Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct, and report to Congress on, a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets.

H.R. 2895 - National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007 - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to establish in the Treasury a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide assistance to states, Indian tribes, insular areas, and participating local jurisdictions to increase the supply of decent quality affordable housing, especially for low-income, extremely low-income, and very poor families.