Housing & Homelessness

HousingGroundbreakingSalinas Panetta

Local, state, and federal leaders are working to address this issue and ensure Californians have a safe and affordable place to call home. In Congress:

  • I secured funding for affordable housing programs, and brought in over $41 million grants for low-middle income, veterans,and homeless community members.
  • I support tax deductions for renters and affordable housing near public transit.
  • I support the Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2019, to invest more than $100 billion to improve housing infrastructure and create jobs. The bill would invest $70 billion to fully address the capital-needs backlog of public housing repairs, $5 billion to create deeply affordable rental homes though the national Housing Trust Fund, $1 billion to address severe housing needs on tribal lands, and $5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, among other investments. The bill also sets procurement and hiring goals for women- and minority-owned businesses, including developers and construction company owners.
  • I am a strong supporter of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, HR 3077, to expand and strengthen the Affordable Housing Tax Credit (AHTC)to incentivize building more affordable housing and better support underserved communities. The legislation would increase the number of allocated tax credits by 50 percent and increase the number of units built by over 500,000 units over the next decade. In addition to increasing the number of credits available, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act creates more veteran-specific housing options and further serve extremely-low income communities. The legislation will better protect victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by ensuring Violence Against Women Act standards are applied to properties built using the AHTC. Importantly, for our agricultural communities, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act includes provisions that help build more affordable housing in rural areas. It allows for more credits to go into rural properties, and it standardizes rural income limits for Housing Credit and Housing Bond properties.
  • The President signed into law legislation that included my bill, the Better Military Housing Act, to create a tenant bill of rights for residents of privatized military housing, prohibit retaliation against military tenants, and create a housing advocate for servicemembers. It is our duty to make sure that those who serve and sacrifice, including servicemembers and their family members, have safe, clean and well-maintained housing.

I will continue to create and implement solutions to tackle the housing crisis.