U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ):

"I am so grateful for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey and the tireless work your members do every day to help renters, homeowners, and people experiencing homelessness throughout our state. Housing insecurity continues to be one of the biggest threats to public health and safety. As you all know, we had an urgent affordable housing crisis in New Jersey even before COVID-19, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Housing impacts every facet of our lives – education, health, employment, long-term financial stability, and opportunity. The pandemic has underscored the importance of our homes and exposed the critical need for more affordable housing. It is time for us to make long overdue investments to create, preserve and improve our affordable housing infrastructure. I am grateful for your partnership as I continue to push to make this a central pillar of the legislative package we are negotiating in Congress. We must use this opportunity to build back better and bring down the cost of housing, improve housing conditions, and remove historic barriers to housing access.

Thank you for your advocacy and your commitment to making sure every person in New Jersey has a decent place to live. I will continue to stand with all of you to fight for safe, affordable, and fair housing.

U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell (NJ-9):
“All of us know that ownership is a gateway to the middle class. But today, eight million households face foreclosure or eviction. And since the Great Recession, the U.S. has had a housing shortage coupled with a drastic increase in home prices. The pandemic has made things worse by decimating available home supply and hammering millions of renters just trying to get by. Segregated housing policies, including redlining, have left minorities behind for generations, as home ownership among Black Americans is at a rate of 46 percent, compared to 76 percent for White Americans. Simply put, American housing problems are devastating and systemic.

“Congress has been proactive to build a better world. We have sought to make housing more available by incentivizing deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes and we must bring back this reform after it was gutted by Republicans. Similarly, the Child Tax Credit we acted in the American Rescue Plan must be made permanent. The significant housing investments of the Build Back Better Act and the House FY2022 appropriations bill must be enacted to guarantee safe and secure housing for all Americans. We voted to do exactly that and every day I urge the Senate to do the same with haste. Affordable, safe housing is the foundation of life in this country. We can and we must all do more to make it a reality for our fellow Americans.”

Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10)
“It is an honor to support efforts to increase affordable housing in New Jersey. I have been a strong supporter of federal investments in housing during my time in Congress.  I was proud to help pass the Build Back Better Act in the U.S. House of Representatives because it would invest billions of dollars for housing nationwide. These investments are critical to creating affordable housing nationwide.” 

U.S. Representative Mikie Sherill (NJ-11):
“As New Jersey and the nation emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that investments in housing security are a part of our long-term recovery efforts. We know that the security of a place to call home pays dividends to our communities in job stability and productivity and in the ability of students of all ages to reach their full potential. Investments to expand that stability to all families are therefore not just important to those experiencing housing insecurity, but to our economy and competitiveness as a whole.

“As a result, I was proud to support the housing investments included in the infrastructure and recovery legislation proposed last year. Together, this funding will allow for the construction and rehabilitation of over 1.8 million housing units and will reduce rents for millions of families nationwide. I will continue working hard to ensure that New Jersey receives crucial funding to expand housing security in our state, which will provide significant benefits to thousands of families and our economy as a whole. I’m so excited to support House NJ’s Housing and Community Development Network campaign and thank you for all of your important advocacy. I will keep doing my part to advocate for these investments that are so important to New Jerseyans’ quality of life and our economic growth.”

U.S. Representative Albio Sires (NJ-8):
“First, I want to thank the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey for their work on this campaign and for the work they do to provide quality affordable housing for those who need it the most. The affordable housing crisis—and it is a crisis—hits close to home. Having safe, stable, and sanitary housing is the foundation of a secure, middle-class life. But in New Jersey, one-quarter of renting households are extremely low-income, and we have a shortage of 205,285 homes that are available and affordable for renters.

“The Build Back Better Act, which I was proud to support, proposed $150 billion in affordable housing investments, including funding for rental assistance, public housing, and the Housing Trust Fund. It is clear that these kinds of transformative investments in our housing infrastructure are long overdue.

“Given the scale and scope of the problem, I am concerned by proposals that would cut these investments from a potential smaller version of the Build Back Better Act. American families need Congress to act swiftly and in a bipartisan fashion to enact permanent solutions to the affordable housing crisis, not kick the can further down the road at the expense of those who need support the most. I will continue pushing for affordable housing investments in the Build Back Better Act, and I thank the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey for their tireless efforts to highlight this issue.”