SENATE COMMUNITY AND URBAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION No. 70

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 9, 2022

      The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee reports favorably Senate Joint Resolution No. 70.

      This joint resolution urges the United States Congress to include within the federal “Build Back Better” legislation funding to expand rental assistance programs, and build, repair and preserve affordable homes in order to reach and provide greater assistance to more people in need of affordable housing.  Housing insecurity has long been a threat to the public’s health and safety, and the COVID-19 pandemic has served to highlight and heighten awareness of the dangers associated with this housing crisis.  A substantial number of New Jersey residents do not have sufficient income to afford even modest, decent housing, but often only a small percentage of those who are eligible to receive housing assistance actually receive it, as these programs are often substantially underfunded.  Due to the pandemic, many New Jersey residents incurred economic hardships and faced the threat of homelessness and foreclosure because they could no longer afford to pay for housing.  Moreover, people of color, specifically women of color and other marginalized renters, have been disproportionately impacted by these hardships. 

      In an effort to provide relief to many of the people struggling as a result of the pandemic, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced H.R. 5376, better known as the “Build Back Better Act.”  This legislation provides Congress a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in housing affordability, stability and security.  Including mechanisms to expand rental assistance programs and address the severe shortage of affordable housing for people with the lowest incomes, Congress could help bridge the gap between wages and housing costs for America’s lowest-income and most marginalized households.  It is therefore critical that Congress make a robust investment in housing affordability in any budget reconciliation bill similar to what was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in the “Build Back Better Act.”  The New Jersey Legislature urges Congress to include the following in this legislation:

•     an expansion of rental assistance by $25 billion to serve 300,000 additional households;

•     $65 billion to repair public housing, which is home to 2.5 million residents; and

•     $15 billion in the national Housing Trust Fund to build and preserve 150,000 homes affordable to people with the greatest needs.