Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced the relaunch of the “Green New Deal for Public Housing.”
Among the provisions of the proposed legislation is the repeal the Faircloth Amendment, a rule that prohibits the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from funding the construction or operation of new public housing with capital or operating funds if the units would exceed the number of units that are owned, assisted or operated by a public housing authority as of Oct. 1, 1999.
The bill also seeks to fund clean energy upgrades in public housing and seeks to ensure any jobs created as part of a housing construction or renovation are unionized. Also included in the legislation is the requirement for “electric appliances to replace appliances reliant on fossil fuels, such as gas stoves and hot water heaters” in public housing and the installation of “electric vehicle charging infrastructure for public housing residents and visitors.” Also included is “the establishment and leasing of commercial activity” within public housing developments for healthcare and certain retail tenants.
“For a long time, we could pass a tax incentive here or there and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a great housing policy,’” said Ocasio-Cortez in a Politico interview. “And everyday people … were supportive because there was still that dream and that idea that ‘I’m going to be buying a home soon … that’s within the horizon for me.’ Right now, we have an entire generation — that is ascending into becoming the most powerful electorate, the largest electorate — for which that is decades away.”
“No housing conversation is complete without a conversation around public housing,” she added. “We in the United States have lived under the scourge of the Faircloth Amendment for decades, and that has helped precipitate — and contributed to — the housing crisis that we are living in today. A major part of our housing problem is a supply problem.”
Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders highlighted their legislative agenda during a news conference outside of Congress today.
“We are going to provide decent-quality, affordable housing for millions of Americans, and at the same time, we’re going to create good-paying union jobs,” said Sanders. “That is a win, win, win situation.”