Category Archives: Policy Update

Attempts to Sabotage the ACA Continue

Attempts to Sabotage the ACA Continue

Kaitlin Brown
July 27, 2018

This month has been particularly rough for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In two acts of sabotage, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced policy decisions that will undermine access to health care for millions of people. (You can see our coverage of previous ACA sabotage from the Trump administration this year here).

First, the administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent out a notice that funding for the navigator program would be cut to $10 million for the 2018-2019 enrollment period. Navigators work on the ground to help people navigate the online Insurance Marketplace and choose a plan that is right for them. Most navigators work for non-profit companies, and are present in congregations, public libraries, and other spaces to meet the needs of their community. Navigators also provide internet access to low-income and elderly people who might not have access to a computer find affordable health insurance. In 2016, the program was funded at $62 million, and only $36 million last year.

CMS also announced that it would be ending the risk adjustment program for insurance companies on the marketplace after a narrow ruling in New Mexico. The risk adjustment program is one of the main ways people with pre-existing and complex medical conditions can gain access to healthcare. The program uses premium money from healthy people in the individual market to pay for sicker people. It doesn’t cost anything, and is one of the main ways insurance works. Without this, however, costs could skyrocket for people with pre-existing conditions. This comes as rates and markets are being set for 2019, and without the ability to spread around risk between healthy and sick patients, premium rates could increase dramatically.

However, this decision was based on one case in New Mexico, where the judge ruled that the program in the state could not continue. Previous to this, a judge in Massachusetts had found the rule legal. However, CMS decided that the New Mexico ruling applied to all twenty-three states that have their own individual marketplace programs. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could have done a few things, including starting the appeals process or asking if the court meant for the ruling to apply to markets outside of New Mexico, that they chose not to do.

The reduction in funding for the popular navigator program, combined with the ending of the risk adjustment program, are two more acts of sabotage against the Affordable Care Act. We are seeing time and again that what the administration cannot do through the legislative process, they are doing through the administrative one.

In a Dark Time, the BRIDGE Act Stands Out

In a Dark Time, the BRIDGE Act Stands Out

Laura Muñoz
January 12, 2017

It’s now 2017 – a bright sunny year with new opportunities ahead and while I am excited for a new year I can’t help but notice the cloud of uncertainty hovering over my head. That cloud began to form when then Presidential nominee Donald Trump ran on the platform of repealing President Obama’s executive order on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

As a recipient of DACA, I have been able to work at jobs that I love (like NETWORK), obtain a driver’s license that allows me to travel, and most importantly live without the fear of deportation. Unfortunately, the few rays of sunlight that DACA has brought into my life after years of living in the shadows have been recently covered with a cloud of uncertainty and fear. Trump’s plan to repeal DACA would be unimaginable and utterly devastating not only for me but also for the roughly 800,000 individuals who have protection through DACA. Ending the program will be the beginning of a storm that will bring about harsh economic and emotional conditions for immigrant families– DACA recipients will be unable to keep their current jobs, support themselves or their families, and most significantly, once again feel the fear of deportation thick in the air.

Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) re-introduced their bipartisan legislation to protect the individuals who currently have or are eligible for DACA. Similar to DACA, the Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act would provide temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to young undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children. Temporary protection under the BRIDGE Act would allow individuals, such as myself, to continue to work and study and be protected from deportation while Congress works on legislation to fix  the broken immigration system.

The reality is that the BRIDGE Act is not a replacement for the comprehensive immigration reform that we desperately need, nor does it protect all undocumented individuals living in the United States. It won’t protect my parents from deportation nor will it protect thousands of DACA recipients’ parents. With the dark cloud of uncertainty and the fear of being separated from our families hovering over our heads, the BRIDGE Act gives us the chance for a hopeful forecast of staying in the country that we consider our home.

ACA Replacement Takes Us Farther from Healthcare for All

ACA Replacement Takes Us Farther from Healthcare for All

Lucas Allen
January 26, 2017

Over the past few weeks, members of Congress have heard our voices loud and clear. Thanks to over 10,000 calls from NETWORK members and people of faith in all 50 states, Senators know that it is not okay to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a replacement in place. Such a move would recklessly play politics with people’s lives and threaten access to healthcare for millions of Americans with no reassurance of an adequate replacement.

We are grateful that many Republican Senators have spoken out and urged their party to come up with a replacement plan before they repeal the ACA. Our calls and engagement helped make this happen. Last week, we met with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and appreciate her role as a voice of reason reigning in partisanship and ideological extremism to search for common ground. On Monday, Senator Collins and Senator Cassidy (R-LA) introduced the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 to advance the conversation of how to constructively move the discussion forward.

While we welcome the replacement proposal, we have said from the start that any replacement must be suitable and build on the progress of the ACA. We would only support a replacement or reform that is equitable, insures just as many or more Americans, and is more affordable for people. Our faith teaches that healthcare is a human right, and we would not support any replacement plan that takes coverage away from people or leaves people experiencing poverty or sickness out in the cold.

The ACA has provided over 20 million Americans with access to healthcare, promoted racial and gender equity in our healthcare system, and improved the lives and quality of coverage of many more. More Americans have health insurance than at any point in our nation’s history, and now is not the time to go backward. While we are glad that Senate Republicans have proposed a plan, the so-called Patient Freedom Act does not meet our criteria for a replacement we could support. It does not take care of those at the economic margins of our society, and many people covered under the ACA would not be able to keep their coverage. More people would be left without access to quality, affordable healthcare.

We call on Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell to slow down their fast-track process of repealing the ACA and to give the American people the time they deserve to examine the best way forward. This healthcare policy will impact almost every family and will have even greater implications for those experiencing poverty and vulnerability, so we owe it to all of our sisters and brothers to take a look at this policy, analyze it, and have our voices heard. We also call on you, our partners and fellow advocates, to share your story and perspective with us and with your elected officials.

Action Items

Blog: New Immigration Guidance Implements Dangerous and Unfaithful Policies

New Immigration Guidance Implements Dangerous and Unfaithful Policies

Department of Homeland Security Memos Strike Terror in the Heart of Our Communities
Laura Peralta-Schulte
February 22, 2017

Throughout the Presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump promised he would build a wall between Mexico and the United States and deport millions of immigrants living in America.  Now, the Trump administration is setting forth a course to make good on that promise.

On February 20, Secretary John Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security released two memorandums providing guidance on enforcement of immigration laws and on issues related to border security. The two memorandums, titled “Enforcement of the Immigration Laws to Serve the National Interest” and “Implementing the President’s Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvement Policies,” work together to create a mass deportation system that targets virtually any of the 11 million undocumented Americans living across the United States for deportation. The new guidance expands the ability to detain and deport most immigrants and seeks to limit due process protections and seeks to expand a program which compels state and local law enforcement officers to act as agents of federal immigration offices.  Further, the guidance seeks to remove protections for unaccompanied children and asylum seekers who are seeking refuge in the United States.  By prioritizing detention and removal over protection the Trump administration turns its back on our obligation to protect vulnerable people seeking asylum.

This guidance fails to serve the national interest and is intended to create chaos and confusion in our communities. Criminalizing our undocumented sisters and brothers will make our communities less safe, less secure and less peaceful. It is not the faithful way forward. People of faith must stand with immigrants and insist our local and state governments support our immigrant neighbors. We must also meet with our Members of Congress and ask them to oppose efforts to criminalize our communities. A border wall and the deportation infrastructure outlined in the memorandum cannot happen unless Congress provides money to fund the projects. We must demand that Congress rejects the Trump administration’s funding requests for the good of our nation.

If the Trump administration moves forward unchallenged, families will be torn apart and communities will be ruined.  We can and must fight back.  Our faith calls us to love our neighbors and welcome the stranger.  Now is the time to put our pray into action.

Take Action on Healthcare

This Lent, Take Action on Healthcare

Join over 2,000 Justice-Seekers in Calling Congress
Lucas Allen
February 28, 2017

Now is a crucial moment for access to healthcare in our nation. Repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could cause 32 million Americans to lose health insurance and raise premiums by up to 100% by 2026. With lives on the line, Congress must treat healthcare as a right, not a privilege, and recognize that access to healthcare is required to protect the fundamental dignity of every person.

Some plans being considered by Republicans in Congress would not only repeal the ACA without much of any replacement, but also cut Medicaid and the healthcare services it provides to people in poverty, children, older Americans, and people with disabilities. Some in Congress would like to use these cuts to pay for unprecedented tax cuts to the extremely wealthy, further widening the gaps in our society by shifting resources from families struggling to make ends meet to the very wealthiest. Cutting Medicaid would further erode the promise that if you fall on hard times in this country, you will be taken care of.

Beyond political rhetoric, this moment is really a decision point for the kind of country and society we want to be. Are we a society which leaves people experiencing hard times out in the cold, or are we our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers? Catholic Social Justice requires that we uphold the dignity of all, which requires ensuring all have access to affordable, quality, equitable healthcare. This moment presents a threat, but also an opportunity to share our faithful vision of a healthcare system and society that advances the common good and puts people, not profit, at the center.

See the Lent Calendar for which Member of Congress the NETWORK community is calling each day during Lent!

View Calendar

Blog: NETWORK Evaluates New Healthcare Bill

NETWORK Evaluates New Healthcare Bill

Lucas Allen
March 7, 2017

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice released our “10 Commandments of Healthcare,” a set of principles grounded in Christian faith and a concern for the common good. We know that healthcare is a human right that is essential for a dignified life, so each of these commandments seeks to protect that right to healthcare and provide health security for all.  Each of these principles form the fabric of a just healthcare system that cares for people living in or near poverty.

NETWORK’s test for any ACA replacement bill is simple: Does the bill protect access to quality, affordable, equitable healthcare for vulnerable communities? After reviewing the House GOP replacement bill, the answer is a resounding no. Instead of providing greater health security, the bill increases costs for older and sicker patients and drastically cuts the Medicaid program, all while providing huge tax cuts to wealthy corporations and individuals. This is not the faithful way forward and must be rejected.

Two House committees will begin “marking up” the health bill tomorrow. Democratic members of the Committees will offer amendments to expand coverage and protect Medicaid during the process but it is not anticipated they will be successful. The bill would then move to the Budget Committee next week then finally to the House floor likely the week of March 20th.

It is imperative that advocates voice opposition to the current form of the bill because silence will be interpreted as satisfaction.  Action now will impact the direction of the bill in the House and in the Senate, the body advocates believe is our best chance of stopping a bad bill.

How Does the GOP Bill Stack Up Against the 10 Commandments of Healthcare?

The following is a comparison of the House GOP plan – the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – with the principles outlined in the 10 Commandments of Healthcare.

1. Thou shalt provide affordable insurance and the same benefits to all currently covered under the Affordable Care Act.

FAILED: The AHCA would cause millions of people to lose access to health coverage. Policy changes would particularly harm people who are older, sicker, and less wealthy.

2. Thou shalt continue to allow children under the age of 26 to be covered by their parents’ insurance.

PASSED: The bill maintains the ACA provision that allows young adults to stay on their parents’ plan through age 26.

3. Thou shalt ensure that insurance premiums and cost sharing are truly affordable to all.

FAILED: This plan would make premiums and cost sharing far less affordable for millions of Americans. It repeals the ACA tax credits that were used by more than 10 million families in 2016, and offers smaller tax credits that do not adjust by income.

4. Thou shalt expand Medicaid to better serve vulnerable people in our nation.

FAILED: While the AHCA does not end the Medicaid expansion immediately, it would freeze enrollment in the year 2020. At that point, states would no longer be able to sign new enrollees up for the program, reversing the unprecedented coverage gains made since the passage of the ACA.  Not only does the AHCA end Medicaid expansion, but it threatens the entire Medicaid program with massive cuts.

5. Thou shalt not undercut the structure or undermine the purpose of Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare funding.

FAILED: The AHCA would end Medicaid as we know it in order to cut and shift Medicaid funding to tax breaks for the wealthy. It converts Medicaid to a per-capita cap, which would cap funds and force states to cut eligibility and benefits for the millions of children and families, seniors, and people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid today.

6. Thou shalt create effective mechanisms of accountability for insurance companies and not allow them to have annual or lifetime caps on expenditures.

HALF-FAILED: While the AHCA keeps the ACA ban on annual and lifetime limits, it removes many mechanism of accountability for insurance companies.

7. Thou shalt not allow insurance companies to discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions.

HALF-FAILED: The AHCA does not repeal the ACA ban on discriminating people with pre-existing conditions, but it makes it more difficult for people who have failed to maintain continuous coverage to get insurance. This will disproportionately impact people with pre-existing conditions and leave many with higher premiums.

8. Thou shalt not allow insurance companies to discriminate against women, the elderly, and people in poverty.

FAILED: The AHCA would allow insurers to charger older enrollees far more, which could leave the elderly with prohibitively expensive premiums on the individual market. It would also impose harsh penalties on people who fail to maintain continuous health care coverage, which would disproportionately affect people in poverty. People who struggle to get affordable coverage should be assisted, not punished and locked out of the insurance market.

9. Thou shalt provide adequate assistance for people enrolling and using their health coverage.

FAILED: The AHCA does not provide assistance for people enrolling, but actually makes it more expensive for people to enroll if they have gone without insurance for 63 days. This could lock out people who have lost coverage and want to enroll.

10. Thou shalt continue to ensure reasonable revenue is in the federal budget to pay for life-sustaining healthcare for all.

FAILED: The House GOP bill gives a massive $525 billion dollar tax breaks to the very wealthiest and corporations with the richest 400 families receiving a 7 million dollar tax break a year.  Meanwhile, there are $200 billion new taxes on working families.  The bill has not been officially scored by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office although budget experts believe there will be significantly less revenue generated to assist low income individuals and families.

Is There Reality in Funding the Federal Government?

Blog: Is There Reality in Funding the Federal Government?

Sister Marge Clark
March 13, 2017

Funding for the current fiscal year ends on April 28. Congress needs to complete plans for funding the federal government for this current fiscal year and at the same time begin to create a budget for 2018.   Since Congress is on recess for four weeks before the April 28 deadline, there are only five weeks to get the job done. Decisions on appropriations will impact a number of NETWORK “Mend the Gap” priorities, but three programs are particularly vulnerable:  housing support for those in poverty, healthcare funding and funds to conduct the 2020 Census.

We know that funding for these programs mean so much to the lives of those in poverty.  Pope Francis reminds us that, behind every statistic, there is the face of a person who is suffering, … “Poverty has a face! It has the face of a child; it has the face of a family; it has the face of people, young and old. It has the face of widespread unemployment and lack of opportunity. It has the face of forced migrations, and of empty or destroyed homes.”

Housing vouchers are particularly at risk for this year. The current budget allotted $500 million less than the amount needed to fund currently held vouchers for the rest of the year. CBPP estimates that more than 100,000 vouchers could be lost in the next few months. 100,000 households could become homeless unless we can secure new funding.

The Affordable Care Act continues to be under attack.  One of the key ways opponents may move to cut the program is to defund its operating system.  House appropriators, for several years have denied the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the IRS new funding to cover the administrative costs of ACA implementation.   These funds and more are at serious risk.

Past decennial censuses have tended to undercount communities of color, people experiencing poverty, immigrants, young children, Native Americans and rural residents. The systematic undercounting of these communities decreases their access to federal funding and proportional representation. If the Census Bureau does not receive increased funding to conduct necessary tests and prepare for 2020, we fear that these gaps in the census will persist.

This year, the funding decisions are particularly daunting, as the administration and many House Republicans are determined to increase military spending while adhering to the top level spending caps established in the Budget Control Act, 2011.  Doing this necessitates cuts in non-defense spending – mostly human needs programs – in order to not exceed the caps.

Further, at the Trump Administration request, Congress is considering a 2017 Supplemental Budget.   They propose that it would cover the added cost of the President’s “deportation force,” which we have seen escalate its activities in the last week.  It would include some war costs, but mostly would cover the cost of President Trump’s Border Wall which ranges from estimates $8 billion to $21 billion.  Removing this from the FY 2017 appropriations does not relieve all of us from paying for it. We would still need to fund the Supplemental through our tax dollars.  NETWORK will actively work to stop this bill.

In addition to completing work on the FY 2017 Appropriations, Congress faces passage of a Budget for FY 2018 – which goes into effect October 1, 2017.  They have yet to receive direction from the President, other than broad statements of cutting non-defense spending by a stunning $3.7 trillion over ten years. This equates to a 43 percent drop in meeting the basic support of people with limited income.

Increases in military spending and unwillingness of Congress to increase revenue put the burden of balancing the budget on the backs of people in need by reducing spending on human needs such as housing, healthcare and the census. This is in direct opposition to what NETWORK Lobby and Advocates for Catholic Social Justice continue to work to achieve. It is imperative that all of us engage with our members of Congress frequently to influence their spending decisions. We need to work hard to protect the dignity of all people in our communities.

A child wearing a cap walks with a backpack and a stuffed animal at the US-Mexico border

Time for Moral Leadership on Homeland Security Funding

NETWORK Lobby Position on Homeland Security Funding

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NETWORK believes security is achieved when communities come together in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity and cooperate generously for the common good.  The militarization of communities and the separation of families is an anathema to this objective.  As people of faith and a nation of immigrants, we are called to welcome the stranger and love our neighbor.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has consistently received additional funds each year to carry out operations at the border and in the interior. The Trump Administration has requested an additional $4.5 billion to the DHS budget for fiscal year 2018 to allow for: the construction of a concrete wall alongside the U.S. – Mexico border, 1,500 new enforcement agents, continued detention and removal costs, and the expansion of E-verify.  The goal of this spending is to restrict the flow of immigrants and asylum seekers, create a deportation force and vastly expand private detention centers in the name of national security.  Such expenditures will separate families and create terror in immigrant and border communities.  These proposals should be rejected.

What Congress Can Do

Reject funding for President Trump’s deportation force:  Hiring 1,500 new Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents only fuels a deportation forces that will separate families. There is little oversight and almost no accountability for these agents.  We must ensure that humane practices are used when detaining undocumented individuals and interacting with people at the border.  Communities of color will be the targets of racial profiling and hiring new agents will lead to the separation of families instead of detaining criminals that harm our communities.

Reject funding for President Trump’s expansion of detention centers and close existing ones:  We have seen the awful effects of detaining women and children, and an increase in detention bed spaces from 34,000 to 45,700 is unimaginable. New detention centers are being built to accommodate such an increase in this quota, allowing the private detention industry to become more profitable. Instead of this wasteful spending that benefits corporations, there are just and affordable alternatives to detention that DHS can utilize. Private detention centers should be closed.

Reject funding for a U.S. – Mexico border wall: Congress has previously acknowledged that additional barriers to the southern border are not necessary. The requested amount of money to expand upon the existing 650 miles of fencing is extremely wasteful, and additional fencing alone is projected to cost approximately $6.5 million per mile.  Border communities oppose a wall along the Southern border because of effects on private property, indigenous communities, and the environment.  Additionally, an internal Customs and Border Protection study in April 2016 showed that a concrete wall would make it more difficult for agents to see activity on the other side of the border, hindering effectiveness.

Time for Moral Leadership on Census

NETWORK Lobby Position on Funding the Census

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NETWORK believes it is every citizen’s right and responsibility to participate in the political process. No individual or community should be disenfranchised by federal policy. A modern, accurate, and equitable 2020 Census is necessary for a fair democracy in which everybody counts.

What We Know

Since 1790, the U.S. Census Bureau has conducted a count of the country’s population every 10 years, as required by the U.S. Constitution. In conjunction with this count, the American Community Survey (ACS) gathers more detailed information on the changing economic and social conditions of the population. Both of these programs are crucial for informing policymakers, apportioning Congressional districts, and distributing over $450 billion in federal program funding each year that is used for public healthcare, education, development, transportation, housing, the enforcement of civil rights, and much more.

Our Values
  • Our faith traditions compel us to care for those most in need, and providing adequate funding for an effective 2020 Census is a crucial prerequisite for federal policies and programs to respond to the needs of marginalized communities.
  • Our faith mandates that everybody counts.
  • Political participation is vital to fulfilling the moral obligation to concern ourselves with the common good and to strive for a just society.

Investing in the Common Good

The census and ACS are crucial sources of information for state and local governments, researchers, businesses, and many other stakeholders working for the common good. Despite the importance of this Constitutional requirement, preparation for the 2020 Census is threatened by uncertain and insufficient funding. A failure to provide adequate funding for the Census Bureau will not only impact the effectiveness of the census, but also cost taxpayers billions of dollars as the Census Bureau is forced to fall back on more costly counting methods of the past.  For effective governance to respond to the needs of the people and promote the common good, we need to invest in Census Bureau preparations so that nobody is left out.

Federal Policies Must Mend Gaps, not Widen Them

Providing adequate funding for an effective and accurate 2020 Census is a crucial prerequisite for federal policies and programs to respond to the needs of marginalized communities. Past decennial censuses have tended to undercount communities of color, people experiencing poverty, young children, and rural residents. The systematic undercounting of these communities decreases their access to federal funding and proportional representation. If the Census Bureau is not able to ramp up spending to conduct necessary tests and prepare for 2020, we fear that these gaps in the census will persist.

A modern, accurate, and equitable 2020 Census is needed for effective governance to promote the common good. Many of the programs that help to mend the gaps in our society and allow all to live in dignity depend on data from the decennial census. The 2020 Census will have implications for the funding of:

  • Rural business and industry development loans
  • Job training and other employment programs under the Job Training Partnership Act
  • Health care for infants and children
  • Child care to enable low-income and working families to work, train for a job, or obtain an education
  • Water and waste disposal systems
  • Policing agencies and community-based entities to work together to reduce crime
  • Monitoring and enforcing employment discrimination laws under the Civil Rights Act
  • Local agencies for food, health care, and legal services for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities

An underfunded, inaccurate 2020 Census would skew the projections of needed resources and programs away from the communities that need them. An equitable census is the foundation for a society in which everybody has a chance for success, all have dignity, and everybody counts.

What Congress Can Do Now

Ramp up Census Bureau funding in FY 2018:
The Trump Administration’s request of $1.5 billion for the Census Bureau is woefully inadequate. Congress should ensure the Census Bureau has adequate resources to prepare for the 2020 Census in the crucial FY 2018 budget year.

Oppose efforts to weaken the Census:
Congress must oppose efforts that would steer money away from the Census Bureau to other programs funded by the Commerce, Justice, and Science bill. We also urge Congress to oppose any amendments during consideration of FY 2018 appropriations bills that would change the mandatory status of the American Community Survey

Time for Moral Leadership on Housing

NETWORK Lobby Housing Budget Priorities

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NETWORK believes that housing is a basic human right, and a foundation for a person’s ability to meet their own needs. Right now, there is not adequate affordable housing for people with low-incomes, and there is a dire shortage for households at the extremely low- income level, at or below 30% of the area median income. Further, people often spend too high a percentage of their income on securing housing, to the detriment of other critical expenses like nutrition, healthcare, childcare, and more.

Since the 1980s, funding to ensure that all human beings have housing has been steadily decimated. The result is increased homelessness and housing insecurity. We must invest in We the People by funding affordable housing, programs to end homelessness, and infrastructure. Only then can we truly consider ourselves a civilized and successful society.

NETWORK opposes any cuts to housing funding and the voucher program. Having a place to live is critical to human life and dignity.

What Congress Can Do

Increase funding for housing programs in FY2018:  

  • Increase the number of housing vouchers to return funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program to pre-sequestration levels, and increase it to account for inflation.
  • Fully fund the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF), rental assistance programs and the Community Development Block Grant.
  • Increase funds for the McKinney-Vento program for the homeless and the Rapid Re-Housing program which is demonstrating success in moving homeless people into affordable units.
  • Fully fund programs for construct of new and maintain existing affordable housing units.
    Increase funding for repair and upkeep of public housing units.

Promote tax policies that support housing:  Reform the Mortgage Interest Deduction, which costs the federal government $70 billion a year and largely benefits the highest-income families, and reinvest the savings in a housing program like the national Housing Trust Fund or rental assistance programs which serve families with greater needs. Create a new renter tax credit to help the lowest-income renters afford decent, stable housing. Families living in renters’ credit units would pay no more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities, and the rental unit owner would receive a federal credit in return for rent reduction.