At a March 1, 2011 hearing on HUD’s fiscal 2012 budget, there was bipartisan agreement on the need to preserve affordable rental housing. While discussion centered generally on budget cutting, Committee Chairman Spencer Bacchus (R-AL) noted the bipartisan agreement among committee members that the greatest priority should be on multifamily housing for low-income families. Bacchus stated, “We do realize that, for low-income Americans, a great percentage of them cannot afford homeownership, so for them renting is really the best option.”
The tone of the discussion is good news for the affordable housing industry since it indicates that even among the most hawkish budget cutters, there is a realization that the government cannot abandon low-income renters to the mercy of the free market.