Affordable Housing Fund Should Represent Opportunity, Not Discrimination for Faith-Based and Non-Profits, Says DeLauro

Affordable Housing Fund Should Represent Opportunity, Not Discrimination for Faith-Based and Non-Profits, Says DeLauro

- Urges House to Abandon Voting Rights Discrimination Amendment -

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) today joined several of her colleagues in the U.S. House and numerous members of the faith community to denounce attempts to politicize legislation that would create a new affordable housing fund - legislation that enjoys wide bipartisan support. On Wednesday, the U.S. House is expected to consider a measure that will restrict the non-partisan voting activities of faith-based and non-profit groups - activities conducted with the groups' own money - if they accept funding from the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF). Affordable housing is a problem that affects 94 million Americans - more than any other crisis in the nation and impacting more people nationwide than the hunger and health insurance crises combined.

"Government has a moral obligation to do something about the housing crisis in this country," said DeLauro. "Those of us here do not believe in every man or woman for himself or herself. We believe in shared responsibility and in what we can achieve together - we believe in tackling this housing crisis together. The Affordable Housing Fund should represent opportunity, not discrimination for faith-based and non-profit groups."

The legislation the U.S. House is expected to take up Wednesday would create a fund to promote the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable and safe low-income housing. The fund represents the first major expansion in years in the availability of funds to build and repair affordable housing, to help address some of our affordable housing needs. Republican leadership intends to include a restriction that would prevent faith-based and non-profit organizations who receive AHF funding from engaging in non-partisan voter registration drives with their own money. Numerous organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have opposed the proposal.

"By saying that faith-based and non-profit organizations that want to help build affordable housing cannot register people to vote with their own money, as this legislation would, it is clear that politics has again reared its ugly head in the housing crisis," said DeLauro. "We will not stand for this moral failing - not as we stand before the challenge of helping those most in need."

Faith-based organizations play an important role in building housing that is affordable for seniors, the disabled, and low-income families in our country. In DeLauro's home state of Connecticut, more than 33,000 people are homeless at some point each year. In the last year alone, more than 13,000 children and young people were living in our streets, in emergency homeless shelters, in temporary or transitional housing or residing in hospitals or treatment facilities.

http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2005/October/Housing_fund_10_25_05.html