Expanding Access to Safe, Affordable Housing Options

All Americans deserve access to affordable, safe housing. In these tough times, we need to do more to ensure that more Americans do not slip into foreclosure, suffer from homelessness, or have difficulty finding affordable rental housing. At the same time, we need to ensure the stability of our housing market, which has been shaken by the financial crisis.

Chris’ housing priorities include:

• Preserving safe, affordable, accessible rental housing and home ownership options. Affordable, accessible rental housing and home ownership are a cornerstone of the American Dream. Congress should support programs that enable low-income families to afford decent housing and reach for homeownership. This is the first step in building lasting, sustainable communities.
• Take steps to reduce homelessness, particularly among veterans and families with children. Even before the recession hit, the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported over 670,000 homeless people on any given night nationwide. We need to do more to ensure that none of them has to sleep without a roof overhead and that that others are prevented from slipping into homelessness. It is especially critical that we do more to expand emergency housing options for families with children and the veterans who so ably served our nation but have fallen on hard times.
• Increase funding for the National Housing Trust Fund. The National Housing Trust Fund was created in 2008 to expand and preserve the supply of affordable and safe housing for low-income families, including the homeless. During this time of hardship, this program is important to help ensure that those who have suffered most from the recession can avoid homelessness. Chris will fight for increased funding for this important program.