NO. R-436Page 1
NO. R-436. JOINT RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO ENACT LEGISLATION CREATING A NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
(J.R.S. 145)
Offered by: Senator Shumlin of Windham County, Senator Bloomer of Rutland County, Senator Condos of Chittenden County, Senator Crowley of Rutland County and Senator Munt of Chittenden County.
Whereas, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 5.4 million renter households in the United States have
worst-case housing needs, meaning they are very low income, and they either pay more than 50 percent of their income on housing or live in severely substandard housing, and
Whereas, according to the Urban Institute, 3.5 million people will experience homelessness in the United States this year, and 1.35 million of those people will be children, and
Whereas, in Vermont, 43 percent of the state’s 70,850 renter households pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent, the federal standard for housing affordability, and
Whereas, in Vermont, an extremely low income household (earning $14,190.00, 30 percent of the area median income of $47,300.00) can afford a monthly rent of no more than $355.00, while the fair market rent for a
two-bedroom is $687.00 per month, and
Whereas, a Vermonter working 40 hours a week must earn $13.21 per hour to afford a two-bedroom unit, which is more than two times the present state minimum wage of $6.25, and
Whereas, a person with a disability and living on Supplemental Security Income receives $604.00 per month and can afford monthly rent of no more than $181.00, while the fair market rent for a one-bedroom unit is $534.00, and
Whereas, the average fair market rent rose 11 percent over the last two years, and Vermont’s rural areas had the third highest increase in rental housing costs in rural America, and
Whereas, homelessness is on the rise statewide, especially among working families, with 4,500 Vermonters staying in shelters during the past year, and
Whereas, the vacancy rate for rental housing is 3.8 percent statewide, the third lowest in the nation, while the vacancy rate for owner-occupied housing is 0.9 percent, tied for fourth lowest in the nation (five percent for rental and three percent for owner-occupied are considered signs of a healthy housing market), and
Whereas, there is a current shortage of 7,400 units in the northwestern half of Vermont, alone, which is expected to grow to over 10,000 units by 2010, and
Whereas, creation of a national housing trust fund would help alleviate the nation’s crisis in affordable housing by creating, rehabilitating and preserving 1.5 million homes over the next decade, 75 percent of which would be targeted to the most vulnerable Americans households with incomes less than 30 percent of the median income, and
Whereas, creation of a national housing trust fund would provide significant aid to the state of Vermont in addressing its own acute affordable housing shortage, and
Whereas, over 2,300 organizations nationally, including 37 in Vermont, have endorsed the concept of a national housing trust fund, and
Whereas, H.R.2349, introduced by U.S. Representatives Bernie Sanders of Vermont, John McHugh of New York, and Barbara Lee of California, has been endorsed by 176 Representatives from 37 states including Representative Tom Davis, and
Whereas, S.1248, introduced by U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, has been endorsed by over 25 senators, including Senators Patrick Leahy and James Jeffords of Vermont and Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly reaffirms the importance and need for affordable housing, and thanks the Vermont Congressional Delegation for its national leadership in cosponsoring legislation to create a national housing trust fund, and be it further
Resolved: That the General Assembly urges Congress to adopt legislation creating a national housing trust fund, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the members of the Vermont Congressional Delegation.