WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced her co-sponsorship of the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act (S.2190). This bipartisan legislation, which was recently reintroduced, would create a bipartisan task force to better understand and address the affordable housing crisis in America. The task force would evaluate and quantify the impact that a lack of affordable housing has on other areas of life and life outcomes, as well as on state and local government programs, and would provide recommendations to Congress on ways to increase affordable housing options.
“Access to affordable housing has long been an issue in Nevada, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made the affordable housing crisis worse,” said Senator Rosen. “This bipartisan legislation would create a task force to study the impact of housing costs on other areas of life like health, education, employment, and access to transportation so that Congress can properly address the affordable housing crisis. A crisis of this magnitude requires a studied and robust solution, and I believe that the creation of this task force will provide us with the information needed to tackle this problem and improve access to affordable housing for all Nevadans.”
BACKGROUND: Specifically, the task force created by this bipartisan legislation will:
- Evaluate and quantify the impact that a lack of affordable housing has on other areas of life and life outcomes for individuals living in the United States, including education, employment, income level, health, nutrition, access to transportation, and poverty level in the neighborhood in which individuals live, regional economic growth, and neighborhood and rural community stability and revitalization.
- Evaluate and quantify the costs incurred by other Federal, State, and local programs due to a lack of affordable housing.
- Make recommendations to Congress on how to use affordable housing to improve the effectiveness of other Federal programs and improve life outcomes for individuals living in the United States.
Last month, Senator Rosen held a roundtable in Carson City with Nevada housing advocates to discuss the affordable housing needs of Nevadans.
Earlier this year, Rosen led 41 of her Senate colleagues in a letter to the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee urging them to provide at least $185 million in funding for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NeighborWorks America) in order to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act was first introduced in 2019, it earned the support of over 70 organizations. For a full list of supporters, click here.
For the full bill text, click here.
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