U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) led the fight today on the House floor for passage of the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund of 2007.

The landmark affordable housing trust fund established under this bill will provide over 1.5 million new affordable homes for hardworking families across America over the next decade. The bipartisan measure will focus on the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing. It will pool monies to target housing for families with the greatest economic need.

“A large number of American families today are facing a critical housing crunch. The cost of an apartment or home is out of reach for so many. But there is good news: many of us in this Congress understand and will keep fighting for a new direction for America and more affordable housing,” said Castor. “Our efforts come at a critical time: federal money for affordable housing has largely disappeared over the past seven years and the cost of living is higher, while many have not seen raises to offset rising costs.”

During the debate on the House floor, Castor recalled a conversation she recently had with a police officer in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“He wants his son to buy a house in his same neighborhood. But in that area of my district, affordable housing is disappearing and there is little land left on which to build,” Castor continued. “In many communities like mine local housing agencies have thousands on waiting lists. In my hometown of Tampa, Florida, during a 1-week open enrollment session, more than 10,000 seniors, families and veterans indicated a need for housing. But, instead of receiving housing, they were placed on a waiting list. The waiting list takes up to four years, and is so long that the Tampa Housing Authority is unable to help others that need it. The lack of federal money for housing over the last seven years has affected both the working class and the unemployed, and presents particular challenges for families with children, senior citizens, disabled persons, and veterans.”

The number of American households paying more than half of their incomes on housing increased to 17 million in 2005, with one in seven U.S. households being severely burdened by housing costs in that year. As a result of families being forced to overspend their incomes on housing, many homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure, particularly with subprime lending or where predatory lending has been practiced.

“In the Tampa Bay area, 10,173 of my neighbors found that their homes fell into foreclosure within the first six months of this year. When this bill passes today we will take a large step toward new construction, preservation of existing housing, home ownership assistance, emergency housing repairs, homeless shelters, and housing-related services,” Castor concluded. “This bill is a huge step in a new, positive direction to ensure that more families are able to find a clean, safe, stable and affordable place to live. Through the major reforms contained in the bill, we are going to increase the number of families that can purchase or rent housing. I am proud to support this bill and I urge the Congress to pass this legislation.”