WASHINGTON, D.C. – The pandemic shed light on something many in our country already knew – America is in the midst of a severe housing crisis. Today, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn released his latest Clyburn Chronicles podcast focusing on this issue and the path forward with National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) President and CEO Diane Yentel.
The two spoke about the housing crisis both pre- and post-pandemic, and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.
In looking toward solutions, Ms. Yentel called the Build Back Better plan, currently being written by Congress, a “tremendous opportunity” to invest in desperately needed housing infrastructure.
“Just like 2020, we will remember as the year of the pandemic, the year when racial inequities were brought to the forefront in so many ways,” Ms. Yentel said. “I think 2021, if we get this Build Back Better bill right, 2021 could be the year we look back as the year we began to end homelessness in our country once and for all.”
Congressman Clyburn agreed, adding that we need to consider the consequences of not acting.
“I keep telling people we need to look at how much it is going to cost if we don’t do these things. $3.5 trillion may be peanuts when you think about the cost of continuing homelessness and other shortages we get in housing,” Congressman Clyburn said. “I think that if people focus on these kinds of things and not worry about that number…we will be meeting a social need, but we will be creating jobs. We will be creating an economy.”
