Housing
Every night, there are more than 50,000 Angelenos sleeping on the street. Congressmember Bass thinks that that is unacceptable. She believes every American should have access to an affordable and safe place that they can call home. However, millions of struggling Americans across the country and in communities throughout Los Angeles are at risk of losing their homes due to the current economic crisis. Supporting public housing, promoting loan modifications and protecting consumers against unsustainable loans are not only necessary to help at-risk families and individuals, but fundamental to the country’s economic recovery.
In June of 2019, Congresswoman Karen Bass invited the Congressional Black Caucus to tour Skid Row to learn about techniques to combat the housing crisis that's impacting more and more cities in this country. Learn more about that trip here.
More on Housing
“President Trump’s budget is deeply troubling and makes it abundantly clear the White House isn’t serious about addressing the needs of this country,” said Rep. Bass. “It makes drastic cuts to housing assistance, as Los Angeles goes through one of its worst housing crises in history, and student loan debt programs, as young people are strapped with more than $1 trillion in student loan debt. The budget also hurts our leadership abroad.
“Tonight, the President again came to the halls of Congress and ironically attempted to push an agenda of unity.
“He said we should reject the politics of revenge and embrace cooperation on the same day that he taunted the Senate Minority Leader on Twitter about election results.
“Within the first few minutes of his speech, the President touted getting families off of food stamps. He stood there just months after pushing an agenda to eliminate SNAP for families across America.
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald J. Trump asked the African-American community “What do you have to lose?” in reference to voting for him. When the Rep. Bass and members of the CBC executive leadership team met with President Trump in March 2017, the caucus answered his question in the form a 130-page policy document titled, “We Have A Lot to Lose: Solutions to Advance Black Families in the 21st Century.” President Trump never responded to the document.
“Los Angeles currently has an overall housing vacancy rate of two percent, so even if you have money, you can have a hard time finding housing,” Rep. Bass said. “As rents increase because of scarce supply, people are finding themselves in difficult situations. The goal of this event was to connect people with the organizations and services that can help folks to improve their situation. I think we accomplished just that.”
“The President’s ‘stop deciding to be poor’ approach to the budget is a fundamental misstep that would permanently cripple the most vulnerable communities in the short run and erode our country’s international leadership in the long run. By proposing vicious cuts, budget director Mick Mulvaney and the rest of the Trump administration are baiting low-income Americans to look the other way as the administration sinks a knife into benefits needed to survive. No one chooses food stamps over a job.