US Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Grace Meng introduced legislation to authorize more than $300 billion in funding for efforts to address homelessness and develop affordable housing in the United States, the lawmakers said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) US Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Grace Meng introduced legislation to authorize more than $300 billion in funding for efforts to address homelessness and develop affordable housing in the United States, the lawmakers said on Wednesday.
Jayapal and Meng introduced the Housing is a Human Right Act, which would authorize more than $300 billion for housing infrastructure and support services for the homeless, the lawmakers said in a statement.
The proposal invests more than $200 billion in affordable housing and support services, $27 billion a year for homelessness services and $100 million a year for community-driven alternatives to criminalization of homelessness, as well as targeted investments in communities at disproportionate risk for homelessness, the statement said.
"The crisis of housing instability is one that can be fixed by investing in housing infrastructure and supportive services for vulnerable communities. And in the richest country in the world, it is a moral imperative that we take this issue head-on. Housing is a human right - and every person deserves to have a safe place to call home," Jayapal is quoted as saying in the statement.
More than half a million people experienced homelessness in the US in 2022, with numbers rising slightly since 2020, according to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data.
However, numbers have risen significantly since 2020 for people with disabilities who experience long-term homelessness and people in unsheltered settings, HUD said in a 2022 assessment.
The legislation would create new grant programs to invest in infrastructure, invest in existing grant programs that address homelessness, incentivize local investments in supporting the homeless and provide $10 billion for Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency food and shelter grants, the statement said.
The bill's investments are aimed at eradicating homelessness in the US, which requires investments beyond building roofs over heads, Meng said in the statement.
The bill is co-sponsored by lawmakers including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Judy Chu.
