Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
David Greer
Director of Communications
During the COVID-19 quarantine, David can be reached at (202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
*Please let us know if you are working on deadline.
To view all of CLPHA's press releases, click here.
To view all of CLPHA's press statements, click here.
You can subscribe here to our biweekly newsletter, events invite list, and topic specific newsletters. You can also follow us on Twitter at @CLPHA. Or, send us an email with your interests and we would be happy to add you to our press lists.
Thanks again for your interest in CLPHA!
|
For Immediate Release
|
||
|
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is pleased House Democrats addressed concerns of large public housing authorities in the HEROES Act with increased funding for rental assistance for those who are at the greatest risk for homelessness and housing insecurity. The bill authorizes $4 billion in additional funding for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance with $1 billion of that designated for new temporary assistance for households who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or who are fleeing domestic violence. The bill also includes $750 million additional funding for Project-Based Rental Assistance, $2 billion in additional funds for the Public Housing Operating Fund, and $100 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance. CLPHA is also pleased with the proposal to protect funding that was shortly due to expire under the Choice Neighborhood Initiative by extending funding through September 30, 2021.
CLPHA will continue to forcefully advocate to policymakers that we as a nation must emerge from this unprecedented pandemic with an unequivocal commitment to address the growing need for rental assistance. “
(202) 550-1381
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities |
||
Public Housing Authorities Need $8.5 Billion in Emergency COVID-19 Funds Plus Regulatory Relief
CLPHA members are working tirelessly, compassionately, and pragmatically to support low-income households. We urge Congress and HUD to do the same.
WASHINGTON (March 19, 2020) - The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities sent letters to Congressional leaders and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson today formally requesting $5 billion for the public housing program and $3.5 billion for the housing choice voucher program in emergency supplemental funds and additional regulatory relief for public housing authorities as they work to protect residents and staff during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, issued the following statement after submitting the requests to Congress and HUD:
"Low-income households and the elderly who are served by public and affordable housing have the most to lose during the current COVID-19 public health crisis because they are the most vulnerable to unemployment, lost income, and heartbreakingly, the virus itself.
"To ensure the health and safety of residents, and of staff, public housing authorities are taking unprecedented actions to follow public health protocols, while continuing to provide residents with services ranging from food deliveries to regular property repairs.
"The FY20 operating budget for public housing authorities is wholly inadequate to fund the enormous unforeseen cost of COVID-19 emergency expenses combined with estimated losses in tenant rent payments. CLPHA is requesting $8.5 billion from Congress in emergency supplemental funds and urging HUD to provide public housing authorities with the flexibility to respond to the changing situation as needed.
"Without a commitment from the federal government to support public and affordable housing operations during and after the COVID-19 emergency, millions of households could be left unprotected from the virus and face longer-term housing insecurity.
"CLPHA members are working tirelessly, compassionately, and pragmatically to support low-income households. We urge Congress and HUD to do the same."
###
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 and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
CLPHA Responds to Trump’s Proposed Cuts to Public Housing Budget
In the face of an estimated capital needs backlog of $70 billion, HUD’s budget zeroes out the public housing capital fund, which is used to address the growing physical needs of aging properties.
WASHINGTON (February 10, 2020) - Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, issued the following statement today in response to President Trump’s FY 2021 Budget proposal, which would slash funding for the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development by more than 15 percent, including a 43 percent cut to public housing funding.
“It is no surprise that this Administration has again proposed to gut funding for our nation’s public housing authorities, which serve more than 3 million low- and very low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities through the public housing and voucher programs.
“In the face of an estimated capital needs backlog of $70 billion, HUD’s budget zeroes out the public housing capital fund, which is used to address the growing physical needs of aging properties.
“In his Budget Brief message, Secretary Carson touts the department’s commitment to resident health and safety with a nominal $90 million increase in funding to address certain hazards including lead, radon, and carbon monoxide. These one-off grants, though welcome, are insufficient and do not comprehensively address the needs of public housing residents or properties.
“We also have serious concerns that HUD’s budget underfunds the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Project-Based Rental Assistance so inadequately that as many as 160,000 households could lose voucher funding.
“The proposal additionally attempts to reintroduce rent increases and work requirements, two controversial polices that lack support from advocates and housing leaders.
“Some bright spots in the budget include increases to the Family Self-Sufficiency Program and Jobs-Plus, and a request of $100 million for the RAD program, which enables public housing authorities to convert public housing units to the Section 8 funding platform.
“But these improvements are meaningless if there are not enough resources to operate the public housing properties or to dramatically improve property conditions for residents living there.”
“Congress has previously rejected draconian budgets that shred our safety net, and we call on them to do so again.”
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 and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
###
On August 1, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, “America’s Affordable Housing Crisis: Challenges and Solutions.” The hearing focused primarily on the challenge of increasing the supply of affordable housing and strategies to address the significant housing cost burdens faced by many Americans. Senator Hatch opened the hearing, stating that the affordable housing crisis, “is a problem that should be ready for a bipartisan solution.” To view our write-up of the hearing, click here.
To help tackle the affordable housing issues discussed in the hearing, Senators Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced legislation, S. 548, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. The bill would increase Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) credit authority by 50 percent, as well as enact roughly two dozen changes to strengthen the program by streamlining program rules, improving flexibility, and enabling the program to serve a wider array of local needs.
During the hearing, Committee Members expressed their support for the Cantwell-Hatch bill and there was broad bipartisan consensus that the LIHTC program is a vital tool for increasing the production of affordable housing and providing low-income households, safe, quality, affordable homes. However, there were also concerns raised regarding oversight and compliance of the program. Daniel Garcia-Diaz, director of financial markets and community investment at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), presented testimony that IRS oversight of LIHTC is minimal and that there are no robust controls in place to ensure reasonableness of costs or compliance with program requirements. According to Mr. Garcia-Diaz, the GAO recommends that HUD, as an agency with a housing mission, play a greater role in the oversight of the program.
In our Statement for the Record, CLPHA applauded the leadership the Senate Finance Committee has shown in support of LIHTC to date and encouraged the Committee to support S. 548. The bill is especially beneficial to the public housing program, which has experienced decades of underfunding and federal disinvestment. We noted that LIHTC has proven to be an extremely important preservation tool for public housing, and PHAs have a long history of leveraging private equity through LIHTCs to fill the funding gap created by decreased federal appropriations. Without the LIHTC program, preservation of their public housing stock would not be possible.
CLPHA also acknowledged that competition for more valuable 9% LIHTCs is fierce in many states and that there have been concerns within the affordable housing community about increased demand from the public housing portfolio. Increasing the allocation authority by 50 percent would support the preservation and construction of up to 400,000 additional affordable apartments over a ten-year period, including the renovation of vital public housing units that are currently at-risk. Additionally, the legislation allows for an increased basis boost for projects serving extremely low-income households. This would be particularly beneficial to housing authorities, as 75 percent of public housing residents are extremely-low income.
CLPHA has been strongly supportive of the legislation. In addition to the Statement of Record above, CLPHA has also engaged in this work as a member of the A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign Steering Committee (A Call to Invest in Our Neighborhoods). The A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign has taken a lead role in promoting the expansion of LIHTC, including support of S.548. Last month the Campaign submitted a letter to Senator Hatch in response to his request for comments on tax reform, urging Congress to expand and strengthen the housing credit. Along with other Steering Committee members, CLPHA endorsed and signed the letter.
As Congress takes on tax reform in the upcoming months, we will continue to support this important legislation that would provide needed resources to public housing. CLPHA members should support the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act by contacting their senators during recess to urge them to support the bill.
Two-Generation Economic Act reflects the cross-sector collaboration that CLPHA’s Housing IsInitiative promotes.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate, calling for the development of support programs that improve family economic security by breaking the cycle of multigenerational poverty through a comprehensive strategy that addresses the needs of parents and children. The Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017, or S. 435, seeks to align and link existing service systems and funding streams that currently support parents and children separately. Heinrich and Collins believe that aligning the support systems to help parents and children together will increase the whole family’s chances for success in life. The bill also establishes the Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty to provide guidance on two-generation programs; establish a system of coordination among agencies and organizations; identify best practices; and identify gaps, research needs, and program deficiencies.
The Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017 is a significant step in the fight against poverty. It would be the first piece of legislation to incorporate a two-generation approach aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, social capital, and health and well-being for parents and children together. In seeking to better align service systems and funding streams, the bill would give states, local governments, and tribes more flexibility to develop programs that meet their specific needs. The approach outlined in S. 435 would greatly improve the effectiveness of service delivery, and it highlights the same principles and goals around which CLPHA’s Housing Is initiative was founded, to better intersect housing and other sectors in order to improve life outcomes. CLPHA has long promoted two-generation initiatives as a best practice and has been a leader in fostering partnerships to encourage innovative solutions to address generational poverty.
The Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty will create a national focus on multigenerational poverty by facilitating coordinated efforts across multiple agencies and departments. This interagency collaboration will align and link fragmented systems and funding streams, resulting in holistic approaches that simultaneously address the needs of children and their parents or guardians.
A collaboration that has been in the works for several years, the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act includes a balance of input and interests from local service providers, families, administrators, and other stakeholders. Heinrich and Collins hope that this innovative approach will help collectively ensure that people will have an opportunity to use already existing federal resources or attract private investment to implement the two-generation approach in their community, regardless of one’s zip code.
When Senator Collins first introduced the bill, she told the story of a five-year-old girl named Arianna who was homeless, living in a tent with her family outside of Portland, ME. A state social worker worked with the Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance to provide support services to the girl and her family, who are now living in an apartment near where Arianna is attending school. This is a small-scale example of the holistic approach that Collins and Heinrich wish to achieve with their legislation.
“Just as a child’s ZIP code should not determine his or her future success, neither should bureaucratic inflexibility make it so difficult for families to get the help they need to escape intergenerational poverty,” Senator Collins said.
You can learn more about the Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017 by reading this fact sheet that explains the principles of the bill or view a copy of the bill by clicking here.
The Cambridge Housing Authority has over 21,000 discrete applicants on its various wait lists. In order to humanize this dismaying number, CHA has created a publication called “Stories of the Can’t Wait List,” a collection of powerful narratives from real people experiencing hardships and dwindling hopes from years spent on CHA wait lists to secure a home in one of the most in-demand and expensive real estate markets in the country.
Of this publication, CHA writes, “It is easy to throw out numbers and data points when talking about the dire need for affordable housing both nationally and locally. We hope this publication can put a face and voice to those numbers. We urge you to consider their stories when thinking about affordable housing in Cambridge and the United States.”
CLPHA is pleased to announce four new public housing authority members:
- Indianapolis Housing Agency (John Hall, executive director)
- Memphis Housing Authority (Marcia Lewis, executive director)
- Housing Authority of New Orleans (Evette Hester, executive director)
- Housing Authority of Prince Georges County, MD (Nathan Simms, executive director)
IHA, MHA, and HANO are joining CLPHA as part of Community Catalyst, UnitedHealthcare and CLPHA’s community-based initiative that convenes a broad range of community stakeholders to identify and address specific health care needs of members of the community and residents of publicly assisted housing who are often difficult to reach and serve. These three agencies are part of the initiative’s second cohort, which formally brings together local partners to develop a collaborative community plan to address needs and track progress and outcomes by blending clinical data with firsthand information from community members.
CLPHA welcomes these four PHAs to our community!
From Fort Worth Magazine:
Fort Worth Housing Solutions, the city’s public housing authority, and the nationally recognized developer AMTEX have completed a deal to build a 339-unit mixed-income apartment community off Westport Parkway and what will become far North Beach Street.
The Opal will be named for Fort Worth’s Opal Lee, a 94-year-old retired educator and community leader who leads a national awareness campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The Opal will be the sixth property developed by FWHS and AMTEX, which ranks sixth in affordable housing production nationally, through a relationship that began eight years ago with development of the mixed-income Avondale Apartments in Northwest Fort Worth.
The 19-acre Opal is sister property to The Holston, a resort-style community of 265 units that opened in December and is 75 percent leased. The Holston is named for Barbara Holston, longtime CEO of the Fort Worth Housing Authority, Housing Solutions’ predecessor.
Read Forth Worth Magazine's article "Fort Worth Housing Solutions Unveils Plan for 339-Unit Mixed-Income Apartments in North Fort Worth Named After Opal Lee."
From HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research:
The 9th East Lofts at Bennion Plaza is a mixed-income, mixed-use development that opened in 2017 in the East Central neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. Located just around the corner from the 900 East station of the Utah Transit Authority’s TRAX light rail system, the 68-unit, transit-oriented development features bicycle storage as well as electric vehicle charging stations in its 17-space garage to further promote environmentally friendly travel. The ground floor of the six-story building contains three retail storefronts facing Bennion Plaza, a public open space raised above street level to accommodate the underground utilities beneath the approximately half-acre site. In recognition of the 9th East Lofts’ vibrant and desirable design, the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City (HASLC) was honored with a 2019 Award of Excellence in Project Design by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.
...
The 9th East Lofts apartments are a mix of 57 one-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom units, each with a balcony. Fifty-four units are affordable to tenants earning between 25 and 50 percent of the area median income, and the remaining 14 are rented at market rate. Of the affordable units, 22 are reserved for special populations: 9 for individuals with physical disabilities, 4 for survivors of domestic violence, 4 for veterans, and 5 for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. “The 9th East Lofts are very welcoming,” says Vicci Jenkins, deputy director of property management at HASLC. “We have young professionals, doctors, veterans — it’s accessible to people of all walks of life.”
Read HUD PD&R’s case study “Salt Lake City, Utah: The 9th East Lofts at Bennion Plaza Provides Affordable Housing in a Transit-Oriented Development,” featuring the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City.
From the Milwaukee Independent:
The Alexander Company celebrated the grand opening and dedication of six buildings on May 27 at the Milwaukee Soldiers Home campus, a monumental milestone marking the completion of a complex, decade-long preservation and rehabilitation project achieved through the collaboration of organizations nationwide.
Opened to veterans in March 2021, the six restored buildings now offer 101 permanent supportive housing units for veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Veteran residents receive access to a range of supportive services, including case management, educational training and employment assistance, benefits assistance, recreational activities, independent living skills training, sobriety maintenance and nutritional support.
“Over the years, there have been naysayers who said this would never be done. But we knew we could do it,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “I honestly cannot think of a more extraordinary and meaningful historic preservation project in this community in the last generation.”
Organizations across the country, as well as locally, joined together to make this complex historic project a reality. Significant grassroots support from preservationists, historians, veterans, elected officials and business leaders aided in identifying a vision for the future use of the District’s vacant buildings.
“This incredible preservation success demonstrates the benefits of historic restoration and what can be achieved through a successful public-private partnership,” said Joe Alexander, President of the Alexander Company. “It serves as proof that strategic partnerships, visionary leadership and creative funding cannot just save buildings, but tackle homelessness, ignite a community and serve as a national model.”
The Alexander Company and the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) brought together their expertise in historic preservation and adaptive re-use, commitment to providing high-quality, affordable housing.
…
“This project shows it takes a village to raise a village,” said Tony Pérez, Secretary-Executive Director of HACM. “The intentionality of the VA, the commitment of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and combined 90 years of real estate and property experience to lead the restoration project. and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), Mayor Barrett’s support and the involvement of investors, philanthropic-minded corporations and individuals are what made the preservation of Soldiers Home possible.”
Read the Milwaukee Independent’s article “Restoration of a National Treasure: Grand Opening of Soldiers Home Returns Site to the Service of Veterans,” featuring the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.
You can also read CLPHA’s previous coverage of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home project here.