Center for Community Change (CCC) Applauds Creation of Housing Trust Fund to Benefit Low Income Households
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2008
2:23 PM
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CONTACT: Center for Community Change
Mary Moreno: 202-339-9316 | mmoreno@communitychange.org
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CCC Applauds Creation of Housing Trust Fund to Benefit Low Income Households
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WASHINGTON - July 30 - The Center for Community Change joins the National Low Income Housing
Coalition and its allies in celebrating a major victory on behalf of low income
people with President Bush signing the passage of the American Housing Rescue
and Foreclosure Prevention Act into law today. Among numerous provisions, the
Act establishes a permanent, affordable national housing trust fund that will
benefit households of very low income.
The Act
was the first new federal housing production program since the HOME program was
created in 1990 and the first new production program specifically targeted to
extremely low income households since the Section 8 program was created in
1974. Funds for the Housing Trust Fund will come from annual contributions made
by Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac.
The
housing trust fund would dedicate 90 percent of its funds for families in
rental properties and 10 percent for home ownership, and 75 percent of the
funds must be used for the benefit of families whose incomes are at or below 30
percent of the area median and all funds must benefit households with incomes
less than 50 percent of the median.
“This fund
will help the people who truly need it the most,” said Mary Brooks, director of
the Center’s Housing Trust Fund Project. “The need for affordable housing
remains acute in this country. The
passage of this bill is recognition not only of the crisis in our housing
industry today, but also of the integral role affordable housing plays in the
health of every community. The national
housing trust fund builds on some 600 local and state housing trust funds
established throughout this country.
Housing advocates have worked since 2000 to create a national housing
trust fund—and this victory underscores that when we come together as a nation,
we can succeed.”
For more information or for interview opportunities, please
contact Mary Moreno at (202) 339-9316 or mmoreno@communitychange.org.
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The Center for Community
Change is a nonprofit, nonpartisan low income advocacy group that promotes the
development of community organizing as a national force for social and economic
justice. More information
on the Center can be found at www.communitychange.org.
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