Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
David Greer
Director of Communications
(202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
*Please let us know if you are working on deadline.
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To view all of CLPHA's press statements, click here.
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
August 10, 2020
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s work to better intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
On August 1, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing, “America’s Affordable Housing Crisis: Challenges and Solutions.” The hearing focused primarily on the challenge of increasing the supply of affordable housing and strategies to address the significant housing cost burdens faced by many Americans. Senator Hatch opened the hearing, stating that the affordable housing crisis, “is a problem that should be ready for a bipartisan solution.” To view our write-up of the hearing, click here.
To help tackle the affordable housing issues discussed in the hearing, Senators Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced legislation, S. 548, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. The bill would increase Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) credit authority by 50 percent, as well as enact roughly two dozen changes to strengthen the program by streamlining program rules, improving flexibility, and enabling the program to serve a wider array of local needs.
During the hearing, Committee Members expressed their support for the Cantwell-Hatch bill and there was broad bipartisan consensus that the LIHTC program is a vital tool for increasing the production of affordable housing and providing low-income households, safe, quality, affordable homes. However, there were also concerns raised regarding oversight and compliance of the program. Daniel Garcia-Diaz, director of financial markets and community investment at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), presented testimony that IRS oversight of LIHTC is minimal and that there are no robust controls in place to ensure reasonableness of costs or compliance with program requirements. According to Mr. Garcia-Diaz, the GAO recommends that HUD, as an agency with a housing mission, play a greater role in the oversight of the program.
In our Statement for the Record, CLPHA applauded the leadership the Senate Finance Committee has shown in support of LIHTC to date and encouraged the Committee to support S. 548. The bill is especially beneficial to the public housing program, which has experienced decades of underfunding and federal disinvestment. We noted that LIHTC has proven to be an extremely important preservation tool for public housing, and PHAs have a long history of leveraging private equity through LIHTCs to fill the funding gap created by decreased federal appropriations. Without the LIHTC program, preservation of their public housing stock would not be possible.
CLPHA also acknowledged that competition for more valuable 9% LIHTCs is fierce in many states and that there have been concerns within the affordable housing community about increased demand from the public housing portfolio. Increasing the allocation authority by 50 percent would support the preservation and construction of up to 400,000 additional affordable apartments over a ten-year period, including the renovation of vital public housing units that are currently at-risk. Additionally, the legislation allows for an increased basis boost for projects serving extremely low-income households. This would be particularly beneficial to housing authorities, as 75 percent of public housing residents are extremely-low income.
CLPHA has been strongly supportive of the legislation. In addition to the Statement of Record above, CLPHA has also engaged in this work as a member of the A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign Steering Committee (A Call to Invest in Our Neighborhoods). The A.C.T.I.O.N. Campaign has taken a lead role in promoting the expansion of LIHTC, including support of S.548. Last month the Campaign submitted a letter to Senator Hatch in response to his request for comments on tax reform, urging Congress to expand and strengthen the housing credit. Along with other Steering Committee members, CLPHA endorsed and signed the letter.
As Congress takes on tax reform in the upcoming months, we will continue to support this important legislation that would provide needed resources to public housing. CLPHA members should support the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act by contacting their senators during recess to urge them to support the bill.
Two-Generation Economic Act reflects the cross-sector collaboration that CLPHA’s Housing IsInitiative promotes.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate, calling for the development of support programs that improve family economic security by breaking the cycle of multigenerational poverty through a comprehensive strategy that addresses the needs of parents and children. The Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017, or S. 435, seeks to align and link existing service systems and funding streams that currently support parents and children separately. Heinrich and Collins believe that aligning the support systems to help parents and children together will increase the whole family’s chances for success in life. The bill also establishes the Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty to provide guidance on two-generation programs; establish a system of coordination among agencies and organizations; identify best practices; and identify gaps, research needs, and program deficiencies.
The Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017 is a significant step in the fight against poverty. It would be the first piece of legislation to incorporate a two-generation approach aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, social capital, and health and well-being for parents and children together. In seeking to better align service systems and funding streams, the bill would give states, local governments, and tribes more flexibility to develop programs that meet their specific needs. The approach outlined in S. 435 would greatly improve the effectiveness of service delivery, and it highlights the same principles and goals around which CLPHA’s Housing Is initiative was founded, to better intersect housing and other sectors in order to improve life outcomes. CLPHA has long promoted two-generation initiatives as a best practice and has been a leader in fostering partnerships to encourage innovative solutions to address generational poverty.
The Interagency Council on Multigenerational Poverty will create a national focus on multigenerational poverty by facilitating coordinated efforts across multiple agencies and departments. This interagency collaboration will align and link fragmented systems and funding streams, resulting in holistic approaches that simultaneously address the needs of children and their parents or guardians.
A collaboration that has been in the works for several years, the Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act includes a balance of input and interests from local service providers, families, administrators, and other stakeholders. Heinrich and Collins hope that this innovative approach will help collectively ensure that people will have an opportunity to use already existing federal resources or attract private investment to implement the two-generation approach in their community, regardless of one’s zip code.
When Senator Collins first introduced the bill, she told the story of a five-year-old girl named Arianna who was homeless, living in a tent with her family outside of Portland, ME. A state social worker worked with the Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance to provide support services to the girl and her family, who are now living in an apartment near where Arianna is attending school. This is a small-scale example of the holistic approach that Collins and Heinrich wish to achieve with their legislation.
“Just as a child’s ZIP code should not determine his or her future success, neither should bureaucratic inflexibility make it so difficult for families to get the help they need to escape intergenerational poverty,” Senator Collins said.
You can learn more about the Two-Generation Economic Act of 2017 by reading this fact sheet that explains the principles of the bill or view a copy of the bill by clicking here.
From the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee's newsletter:
On Wednesday, March 13, the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) was thrilled to welcome President Biden to its Hillside Family Resource Center to announce $36 million for the 6th Street Complete Streets Project. Speaking at the Resource Center’s Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club, the president lauded the city’s plan to transform a 2.6-mile section of 6th Street, fostering an environment of safety, enjoyment, and accessibility for all – no matter one’s age or ability.
Just north of downtown, nestled along the western side of 6th Street, are HACM’s Hillside Terrace, Townhomes at Carver Park, and Lapham Park communities, home to nearly 800 households set to benefit from the safer, greener, and more welcoming infrastructure improvements. The project will integrate people and place into all phases, from planning and design through construction.
The initiative is made possible through the innovative Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
In the 1960s, the construction of I-94/I-43 in Milwaukee led to the demolition of roughly 17,000 homes and 1,000 businesses, as neighborhoods in the path of the highway were displaced and surrounding roads like 6th Street were widened to accommodate interstate traffic. This resulted in the creation of a street that prioritized fast-moving car traffic over the people who live, walk, work, and shop in these neighborhoods.
The 6th Street Complete Streets Project will reconnect communities along more than two and a half miles of the 6th Street corridor, providing wider sidewalks for children walking to school, safe bike lanes for residents and visitors, dedicated bus lanes for faster transit, new trees to provide shade, and green infrastructure to prevent sewage from flowing into the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan.
This project stands as a beacon of hope, signaling a transformative shift towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and vibrant urban landscape along the 6th Street corridor. HACM eagerly anticipates the transformative effects this project will bring to our cherished communities at Hillside Terrace, Townhomes at Carver Park, and Lapham Park, enriching the lives of residents and enhancing the experiences of all who reside, work, and engage along Sixth Street.
Learn more about the City of Milwaukee’s 6th Street Complete Streets Project and the Complete Streets Policy.
Check out more photos from President Biden's visit.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities’ (CLPHA) Housing Is Initiative and the Moving to Work (MTW) Collaborative, held a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill entitled “Housing. Education. Health: Cross-Sector Collaboration to Improve Life Outcomes for Low-Income Americans.”
Featuring opening remarks from Congresswoman Maxine Waters, this briefing showcased the important cross-sector work CLPHA and MTW Collaborative public housing authority members are undertaking in their communities to help improve life outcomes for low-income individuals and families. Our panelists provided expert insight into ways to approach legislative solutions to the challenges our members face in providing crucial services for our nation’s most vulnerable populations.
Featured Panelists and Topics:
- Homelessness: Douglas Guthrie, President and CEO, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, California
- Education and Housing: April Black, Executive Director, Tacoma Housing Authority of Tacoma, Washington (slides)
- Behavioral Health: Karen DuBois-Walton, PhD, President, Elm City Communities of New Haven, Connecticut (slides)
- Supportive Housing: Mark Gillett, Executive Director, Oklahoma City Housing Authority of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
March 12 | 2:00 p.m. ET
Join Housing Is for an upcoming working group webinar with the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) as they discuss their recent digital equity efforts. This conversation will center around how HACLA and AMHA, who were both Federal Communicaitons Commission Affordable Connectivity Program grantees, strategically targeted their outreach endeavors to help their residents who utilize vouchers enroll in ACP. They will share the lessons learned throughout the process and how this experience can influence future digital equity efforts, and outreach to voucher holders more broadly.
Please join the discussion on Tuesday, March 12 from, 2:00 –3:00 pm ET.
From MyNorthwest.com:
From April through June 2025, 175 randomly selected Tacoma families will be awarded $500 each month with no strings attached — as long as they meet certain criteria.
Originally announced in 2020 by Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, the city’s idea — “Growing Resilience in Tacoma” (GRIT) — works with United Way of Pierce County, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, the Urban League, Sound Outreach and the Tacoma Housing Authority to create a universal basic income pilot program within Tacoma.
“To restore truth to the idea of the American dream for working families, we must give people what they need to be successful,” Woodards said on the GRIT program in a prepared statement. “If we are going to effectively eradicate inequity in Tacoma or in any city across America, then we must look at all of the conditions that impact our residents. This includes economic conditions. That is why I am excited to join this group in exploring options for providing guaranteed income locally.”
More than 100 lower-income households in Tacoma received $500 a month for 12 months as part of GRIT in 2022. According to The Seattle Times, 23% of the monthly fund was spent on food and groceries while 12% was spent on housing and utilities. Now the city wants to expand this program with GRIT 2.0.
“These dollars are unconditional and unrestricted,” United Way of Pierce County stated on its website for GRIT applications. “This project is designed to demonstrate that this type of cash investment can reduce feelings of overwhelm and toxic stress, improve economic stability, increase housing security and improve health and well-being while reducing poverty in our community.”
Read MyNorthwest.com's article "Eligible Tacoma residents to earn $500/month through GRIT program."
From the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh's newsletter:
HACP’s Virtual Parenting Program has given another group of parents, guardians and caregivers the tools to tackle the challenges associated with raising children.
Twenty-three graduates were recognized during a graduation ceremony in November 2023 after completing the six-week virtual course that teaches participants everything from positive parenting, trauma and healing, financial literacy and eating healthy on a budget.
International parenting coach, educator and psychotherapist Dr. Carol Chakua was a new speaker added to the lineup, and her program was very well received.
“Everyone really enjoyed what she taught them,” Mungereza Mayende, clinical coordinator and referral manager in HACP’s Residential Self-Sufficiency department, said. “She brought a whole new element to the program in helping parents to believe in themselves, and to parent differently from the way they were parented, especially where there was trauma involved.”
Mayende developed the program for HACP’s Low-Income Public Housing residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. With financial support from Highmark Wholecare, classes began in August 2022.
“The success of this program means a lot to me,” she said. “I have seen our graduates grow into a resource for their children and become someone they can depend on, and parent them without the trauma. It’s helping to heal the world, one child at a time.”
Participating LIPH residents are also given a stipend, books on parenting and other goodies for completing the course, such as Giant Eagle gift cards for purchasing healthy foods.
Participants are also encouraged to share feedback to let HACP know which topics they are most interested in learning more about. They have expressed interest in learning ways to respond to their children without yelling and budgeting as a single parent, among other topics.
Mayende is excited to see what the future will bring to the program, and hopes to see it continue to grow. She added it’s encouraging to see more single fathers enrolling in the class, noting the first cohort welcomed one single father and the November class enrolled seven.
“I’m hoping to introduce new subjects, including one portion that focuses on single parenting and parenting in a blended family,” she said. “I would also like one class to focus specifically on trauma, whether it’s to help parents who have lost another child be present for their other children or helping children who have experienced trauma in their lives.”
The next Virtual Parenting Program cohort is planned for mid-March 2024, and 16 residents are already signed up. The class can now accommodate 30 participants, which has doubled since its inception.
Karen Rollins-Fitch, Highmark’s Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, said Highmark Wholecare is proud to support HACP’s Virtual Parenting Program.
“Highmark Wholecare is happy to support initiatives like the parenting classes that are provided at HACP. When looking at whole person care, well informed parents make a difference in the lives of well cared for children, which results in an improved community. Highmark Wholecare focuses on physical health, but the wellbeing of the needs in mental, and financial health, are just as important,” she said.
The program is open to all parents, grandparents, guardians and caregivers of children under age 18. At least one parent, guardian or caregiver must be listed on an HACP lease in order to enroll.