(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
December 22, 2020
(Washington, D.C.) December 22, 2020 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement on the passage of the latest COVID relief stimulus package:
“While we welcome that Congress has finally acknowledged the dire need of low-income families facing evictions and homelessness with $25 billion in emergency rental assistance, the stimulus package is long overdue. It is a recognition of the enormous threat looming, not only for millions of low-income renters, but also to the national economy. It is estimated that there will be $70 billion in past due rent by the first of January. This is why $25 billion is only a down payment on rebuilding the shredded social safety net that has been continuously underfunded for decades. We know that those at greatest risk, especially during the pandemic, are low-income households.
“While we applaud action to deliver emergency rental assistance, we are alarmed by the months-long delay in the Senate to consider meaningful COVID-related relief. The delay has exacerbated the pain and suffering caused by the pandemic that has fallen on the backs of the country’s most vulnerable families. More assistance will be needed to avert crisis-level increases in evictions and homelessness.
“CLPHA is committed to working with Congress and the new administration over the coming weeks to ensure this emergency rental relief begins to address the massive economic disruption, unemployment, and housing insecurity faced by low-income households across the country.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA .
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative
The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes. Housing stability is a critical first step to improve life outcomes for low-income children, families, and seniors; CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that sectors can better meet needs when they work together. Housing Is establishes, broadens, and deepens efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. Learn more at housingis.org and on Twitter @housing_is.