Amy Klobuchar: “I thank Senator Inhofe so much for his allowing me to say a few words. I know it is his time. And I thank my friend Jack…”

“I thank Senator Inhofe so much for his allowing me to say a few words. I know it is his time. And I thank my friend Jack Reed. Today is July 1, which means that rent and mortgage payments are due, and as I speak today, so many families across this country are being forced to make the difficult decision about how they will make this month's payment to stay in their homes. Even before the pandemic began, almost one-fourth of all renters, or 11 million households, were forced to pay more than half of their income for housing--half of their income. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, more than half a million people experienced homelessness on a given night before the pandemic, and that has just gotten worse. That is why I am a strong supporter of Senator Brown's Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act, which will provide $100 billion in emergency funding. I am also proud to support Senator Reed's bill as well as the work of Senator Menendez. The pandemic, as we know, has wide and longstanding racial disparities in housing. We had a 30-percent gap in Black and White ownership rates before the pandemic due to discriminatory practices, and it has only made it worse. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, a leader and a good friend, has repeatedly reminded us that this means investing in programs like section 8 housing, which still remains unavailable to so many families. Yes, we need to address this shortage of affordable housing.…”