Political Quotes

“Mr. President, along with Senators Brown, Leahy and many or my colleagues, I am reintroducing legislation that would create a $75 biilion Homeowner Assistance Fund that builds on the success of the Hardest Hit Fund at the Treasury Department that I championed in 2010. The Hardest Hit Fund provided funds to 18 state-level Housing Finance Agencies, directing targeted foreclosure prevention assistance to households and neighborhoods in states like Rhode Island hit hard by the economic and housing market downturn. The Homeowner Assistance Fund expands this model to provide a flexible source of Federal aid to all State-level Housing Finance Agencies. This Federal funding could then be used to help struggling households remain in their homes while they search for new employment or wait to get back to work. Financial assistance could go towards preventing eviction, mortgage delinquency, default, foreclosures, or loss of utility services, such as water, gas, electricity, and the Internet as well as paying property taxes. One of the key lessons COVID-19 has taught us is that for many families, their homes may be the single most effective and accessible form of personal protective equipment. The last thing we should be doing is making housing less stable at the worst possible time. According to a January 2021 National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, ``policies that limit evictions are found to reduce COVID-19 infections by 3.8% and reduce deaths by 11%.…”