For Immediate Release
Friday, January 8, 2016
Contact
Sarah Bascom, sarah@bascomllc.com, 850.294.6636
Kelsey Swithers, kelsey@bascomllc.com, 941.400.8183
Tallahassee, Fla. – The Florida Housing Coalition today applauded Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25), Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, for being a strong supporter of affordable housing in Florida. In detail, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill on Friday, December 18, 2015, which came as a great relief to the broad and diverse interests that comprise affordable housing advocates in Florida, as it contained much-needed funding for affordable housing initiatives and programs in the State of Florida and within the South Florida region.
“On behalf of the Florida Housing Coalition, I’d like to thank Congressman Diaz-Balart for his leadership and support of affordable housing,” said Jaimie Ross, president and CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition. “The increase in funding for the HOME program and the Rural Housing Programs, making the 9 percent minimum LIHTC permanent and ensuring that Community Land Trusts are able to successfully operate are some of the critical provisions contained in the recently-passed omnibus spending bill.”
“It is impossible to overstate the importance of Congressman Diaz-Balart’s leadership on the issue of funding for affordable housing in our state and in Southeast Florida in particular,” said Isabel Cosio Carballo, executive director of the South Florida Regional Council. “Study after study documents that Southeast Florida is the most cost-burdened region, when compared to the nation’s top 150 large metros, in the area of affordable housing. When combined with transportation costs, the data clearly shows that many of South Florida’s residents are paying 60 percent or more of their income to secure housing and transportation. Without the resources the Congressman has secured, and leadership and investments made by local and state leaders, our community and economic development efforts would be severely hampered. A strong investment in affordable housing not only enhances economic and community development efforts, it creates an opportunity for families and individuals to pursue the American Dream and reach their potential.”
“The Florida Housing Coalition’s 2016 Home Matters Report released on January 7, 2016, reports that there are more than 951,000 very low-income households, including hardworking families, the elderly, veterans and disabled Floridians living on fixed incomes, who are forced to spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing. The omnibus spending bill, championed by Congressman Diaz-Balart, is essential help for these Floridians,” concluded Ross.
Due to the leadership and commitment of Congressman Diaz-Balart, the following provisions were included in the omnibus spending bill that passed Congress:
- Increased funding for the federal HOME program by $50 million;
- Protected the ability of Community Land Trusts to use the HOME program;
- Renewed the existing Housing Choice Vouchers and Project Based Rental Assistance;
- Secured 8,000 new VASH Vouchers for Veterans nationwide;
- Modestly increased capital and operating funds for public housing;
- Increased funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grant program by $115 million to $2.25 billion;
- Modestly increased funding for Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly;
- Avoided a raid on the National Housing Trust Fund to pay for any other program;
- Secured a 3.9 percent net funding increase overall for HUD programs; and,
- Provided sorely-needed increases for USDA Rural Development rental programs.
For more information on the Florida Housing Coalition, please visit FLHousing.org, follow @FLHousingC and like FB.com/FloridaHousingCoalition.
A pdf of the press realease is available here.