Legislation introduced to target investments into high-poverty areas
This month, Senator Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Clyburn (D-SC) introduced legislation to better target federal grants to high-poverty areas. The bill, titled “An Act Targeting Resources into Communities in Need,” expands the “10-20-30 formula” to include a larger group of communities and federal accounts.
The 10-20-30 formula requires that a minimum of ten percent of federal funds of a particular program go to communities with persistent poverty, which is defined as a county where the poverty level has been 20 percent or higher over the past thirty years. The new bill expands this formula so that it applies to more federal programs and reaches more communities; the bill would also target funding to census tracts with poverty rates currently exceeding 20 percent.
In his press release about the bill, Senator Booker said, “While genius is spread equally across zip codes, opportunity is not. This bill more strategically targets federal resources to where they are needed most, ensuring that families and communities long left behind are given a fair shot.” During the previous Congress, Senator Booker partnered with Senator Scott (R-SC) to introduce the “Investing in Opportunity Act,” which was enacted to create the current Opportunity Zones tax initiative that aims to re-allocate private investment in high-needs areas.
NAHMA will keep members up-to-date on the bill progress.
Help NAHMA promote adult literacy
This spring and summer, help NAHMA promote adult literacy by connecting affordable housing residents to a free app for improving reading and English skills. The app is available for download until August 31, 2019; property managers and owners can help spread the word by simply distributing our fliers to your properties, staff, and service coordinators.
NAHMA members are uniquely situated to reach residents of affordable housing who are working hard to improve the financial and educational status of their families. Some of these residents may be interested in taking advantage of a free literacy app to improve reading and English skills.
To help NAHMA succeed in promoting adult literacy and demonstrating that housing is a platform for success, please distribute the attached English and Spanish fliers throughout your companies, communities, and to on-site staff.
The literacy app is free, self-supported, and self-paced; it is intended for all ages, from middle school through seniors, who may want to find better work, advance their education, help their children with homework, or read stories with grandchildren. The app can be downloaded at https://abc.xprize.org/ac5588 using Community Referral Code 5588 until August 31, 2019. For more info, please visit our webpage here.
Congress heads into April Recess
Congress begins a two-week recess on April 15, leaving behind stalled disaster recovery talks and early funding discussions for Fiscal Year 2020. NAHMA encourages members to use the recess period to reach out to lawmakers about the importance of affordable housing programs in your communities. For advocacy resources, please visit our webpage here, and stay tuned for the results of our March Meeting Hill Visit Challenge!