Housing California applauds Biden’s COVID-19 relief package
If enacted, President-elect Biden’s relief package would mark significant progress towards an equitable economic recovery. With its extension of the federal eviction moratorium through September 2021, $30 billion in emergency rental and utility assistance, and $5 billion to address the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness, Biden’s American Rescue Plan includes some of the same priorities Housing California and our partners are advancing in California.
To further protect the health and housing needs of people struggling the most during the pandemic, including those experiencing homelessness, we encourage Biden and Congress to adopt recommendations from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, including funding for new Housing Choice Vouchers and the national Housing Trust Fund.
The need could not be more urgent today as we see more and more families and neighbors struggling to remain housed while trying to protect themselves and loved ones from COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic’s economic fallout, renters in California and throughout the country face eviction after accumulating months of rent debt. Actions at both the federal and state levels that prioritize those impacted the most by the pandemic, especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, will lay the foundation for an equitable recovery for all communities.
These federal resources are critical for stemming evictions and for getting and keeping people housed during this continuing economic and health crisis. At the same time, we must put a long-term game plan in place. We look forward to working with our state leaders to implement California’s Roadmap HOME 2030, a comprehensive framework of bold, equity-centered, evidence-based policy solutions to create affordable homes for all Californians.
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