It’s no secret that there’s an affordable housing crisis in this country and this is certainly the case in Virginia’s 8^th District. In Virginia alone, there is a shortage of 148,720 rental homes that are affordable and available for extremely low-income renters. We know that when people have adequate access to housing, that leads to stronger and more productive communities, greater economic mobility and job growth, and better educational and health outcomes. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the housing crisis. That’s why I was a strong supporter of both the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan, which provided historic investments in emergency rental assistance, the Homeowner Assistance Fund, emergency housing vouchers, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, housing counseling programs, and the Fair Housing Initiatives Program. I proudly voted for the passage of these bills to provide immediate and direct relief to help Americans remain housed during the pandemic.

Additionally, I have spearheaded efforts on the federal level to bring down the cost of housing. I am a co-lead of H.R. 2573, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, which would build more than two million new affordable housing units nationwide over the next 10 years and better meet the needs of at-risk groups. I also co-lead the Save Affordable Housing Act, which would protect the 30-year affordability commitment of housing financed by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

Now is the time to expand and improve our programs to tackle America’s affordable housing crisis in a meaningful way and I will continue to work in Congress to better meet the needs of the American people.