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Bay Area Mayors, Advocates Urge Congressional Delegation to Make Historic Investments in Housing

Leaders Rally Around Long-term Solutions to Region’s Affordability Crisis

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Breno Assis/ Unsplash

A coalition of elected leaders, private, and philanthropic partners sent a letter (http://ow.ly/DBuJ50FNGsX) to the region’s federal legislators on August 10 calling on them to include historic investments in affordable housing in the upcoming budget reconciliation legislation before Congress.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf were joined by many of the region’s leading housing providers, advocates, and experts to urge California members of Congress to:

  • Ensure anyone eligible for a housing voucher can get one by making vouchers a federal entitlement.
  • Enact House Financial Services Chairman Maxine Waters’ Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2021, which would provide over $600 billion in affordable, equitable housing infrastructure; and focus resources in the region using flexible models such as the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority.
  • Strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program by increasing the number of credits, which would create over 330,000 new housing units in California.

This coalition stemmed from a regional effort to build on local economic recovery task forces and to align behind key priorities to rebuild and regrow a Bay Area where everyone can thrive. It recognizes that affordable housing is a critical priority to ensure an equitable recovery. The coalition noted:

“In the Bay Area and around California, our communities face an acute shortage of affordable housing, worsened by a pandemic that has further revealed the vast inequities, especially facing Black, Brown, Asian Pacific Islander, and Indigenous communities…”

“…Advancing these priorities will spur desperately needed affordable housing production and ensure all residents have access to a safe, affordable place to call home.”

A copy of the letter can be found at http://ow.ly/DBuJ50FNGsX, and the full text is included below:

 

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senate,

The Honorable Alex Padilla, U.S. Senate,

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Mark DeSaulnier, U.S. House of Representatives ,

The Honorable Anna Eshoo, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable John Garamendi, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Jared Huffman, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Ro Khanna, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Barbara Lee, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Zoe Lofgren, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Jerry McNerney, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Jackie Speier, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Eric Swalwell, U.S. House of Representatives,

The Honorable Mike Thompson, U.S. House of Representatives

 

Re: Housing Priorities for the Bay Area Region 

 

Dear Bay Area Congressional Delegation Members:

Thank you for your historic, ongoing leadership in providing critical resources to the nation – and the Bay Area – to recover from the health, economic, and housing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have come together across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to work in collaboration toward a more equitable housing recovery in our region, home to over 7.7 million people, and look to your leadership in helping us secure key housing investments, which only the federal government can meet.

Cities and counties across the region convened local economic recovery task forces early in the pandemic, identifying local priorities and actions to provide immediate relief and advance local recovery strategies. To build on the work of the regional economic recovery task forces, a coalition of public, private, and philanthropic partners came together to identify our region’s most pressing state and federal priorities to ensure an equitable recovery. Common across the Bay Area was the recognition of affordable housing as a critical priority to ensure an equitable recovery.

In the Bay Area and around California, our communities face an acute shortage of affordable housing, worsened by a pandemic that has further revealed the vast inequities, especially facing Black, Brown, Asian Pacific Islander, and Indigenous communities. While there are numerous causes, millions of California families are housing insecure:

  • Tens of thousands are homeless. In 2019, 35,028 individuals were experiencing homelessness in Bay Area counties.
  • Overall, 137,500 households, including 86,600 low-income Bay Area households, are at risk of eviction and collectively owe $256 million in rent debt. If 10% of currently at-risk households became homeless, that would lead to a 44% increase in homelessness.
  • The vast majority of renters who are behind on their rent have experienced job and income losses during the pandemic: 78% have lost employment income, while 81% earn less than $75,000.
  • As of 2017, 71% of necessary permits were issued for above moderate-income units, compared with only 9% to 13% for either very low, low, or moderate-income units in the current 2015 to 2023 housing cycle.
  • Due to generations of disinvestment, Black, Latinx, Native American, Mixed/other renters are more likely to be rent-burdened, particularly among female-headed renter households. Eighty-eight percent of renters who are behind on rent are people of color. Moreover, Black residents represent 29% of people experiencing homelessness in the region but only 6% of Bay Area residents.

As a coalition of leading housing providers, advocates, and experts working in the region, we are requesting that you fight on behalf of the following federal priorities that will directly improve millions of lives in the Bay Area:

  1. Transform the Housing Choice Voucher program into a federal entitlement so that every household that qualifies for assistance can receive it. We urge you to support House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters’ visionary effort to advance this goal through the inclusion of the Ending Homelessness Act of 2021 in reconciliation legislation this year. In addition to making vouchers an entitlement, the comprehensive Ending Homelessness Act of 2021 provides protections against discrimination based on source of income and funding for supportive services, creation of permanent affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness, and technical assistance for relevant state and local authorities. Together, these actions could end widespread homelessness as we know it.
  2. Invest in affordable housing in reconciliation legislation this year by including Chairwoman Waters’ Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2021, which would provide over $600 billion in housing infrastructure; and include in this flexible funding for innovative regional approaches for more equitable housing solutions. This transformational legislation would address the acute shortage of affordable housing and advance equity in the Bay Area and other parts of the country by investing in the creation and preservation of affordable and accessible housing, public housing, and community development, with set-asides for high and persistent poverty communities and measures that improve equitable planning and development processes to affirmatively advance fair housing. In addition, fully funding cross-jurisdictional solutions, such as the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA), within these programs will allow regions and metro areas across the country to elevate a commitment to racial equity, foster innovation to integrate housing solutions with regional transportation and climate strategies, and make each dollar invested in housing goes further than other piecemeal approaches would otherwise accomplish.
  3. Strengthen the Low Income Housing Tax Credit – a crucial tool in the production of affordable housing – by enacting the bipartisan, bicameral Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA). Since its inception in 1986, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has built or rehabilitated more than 3.5 million affordable housing units, making it the most successful federal policy to produce affordable rental housing. We thank you for your support of this meaningful tax credit. Today, AHCIA is needed to expand its impact in order to meet the scope of the current affordable housing crisis. AHCIA would help build more than two million new affordable housing units across the country, including 330,000 in California alone, in the next decade by increasing the amount of credits allocated to each state by 50 percent, increasing the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds, and making improvements to the LIHTC to better serve victims of domestic violence, formerly homeless students, Native American communities, veterans, and rural Americans.

Advancing these priorities will spur desperately needed affordable housing production and ensure all residents have access to a safe, affordable place to call home. Thank you for contacting Christa Brown with the San Francisco Foundation so we can further discuss these priorities in the near future.

 

Sincerely,

London Breed
Mayor, City of San Francisco
Sam Liccardo
Mayor, City of San Jose
Libby Schaaf
Mayor, City of Oakland
Tomiquia Moss
Founder & Chief Executive, All Home
Margaret Peterson
CEO,
Catholic Charities East Bay
Monique Berlanga
Interim Executive Director, Centro Legal de La Raza
Malcolm Yeung
Executive Director,
Chinatown Community Development Center
Don Gilmore
Executive Director,
Community Housing Development Corporation
James W. Head
President & CEO,
East Bay Community Foundation
Michael McAfee
President and CEO,
PolicyLink
Priscilla Almodovar
President and CEO,
Enterprise Community Partners
Cindy Wu
Executive Director,
LISC Bay Area
Leslye Corsiglia
Executive Director,
Silicon Valley @ Home
Guillermo Mayer
President & CEO,
Public Advocates
Fred Blackwell
CEO,
San Francisco Foundation
Nicole Taylor
President and CEO,
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Amie Fishman
Executive Director,
Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California
Gloria Bruce
Executive Director,
East Bay Housing Organization
Ellen Wu
Executive Director,
Urban Habitat
Alicia John-Baptiste
President and CEO,
SPUR
Omar Carrera
CEO,
Canal Alliance
Debra Gore-Mann
President and CEO,
The Greenlining Institute
Derecka Mehrens
Executive Director,
Working Partnerships USA

 

Bay Area

Gov. Newsom Looks Back at 2024 Milestones; Presents Vision for 2025

Newsom opened by recounting his announcement atop the Golden Gate Bridge of $150.4 billion in record-breaking visitor spending. He reflected on signing a bill with singer Demi Lovato to protect young content creators from financial exploitation. He celebrated the Olympic flag transfer ceremony, signifying California’s preparation for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photo Courtesy of California Governor’s Office.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photo Courtesy of California Governor’s Office.

By Joe W. Bowers, California Black Media 

In a recent video address, Gov. Gavin Newsom shared key moments that shaped California in 2024. He emphasized achievements in tourism, technology, public safety, and environmental resilience while underscoring the state’s ability to tackle challenges head-on.

Newsom opened by recounting his announcement atop the Golden Gate Bridge of $150.4 billion in record-breaking visitor spending. He reflected on signing a bill with singer Demi Lovato to protect young content creators from financial exploitation. He celebrated the Olympic flag transfer ceremony, signifying California’s preparation for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Focusing on innovation, Newsom praised NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang for his leadership in advancing generative AI. He showcased the transformation of an abandoned mall into a quantum computing center in L.A. that addresses global challenges.

He also highlighted the ARCHES coalition’s work on green hydrogen, aiming to decarbonize California’s industries.

Newsom emphasized California’s leadership on clean transportation with over 2 million electric vehicles sold and a statewide network of 150,000 public chargers. He spoke about joining Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi to celebrate the long-awaited electrification of Caltrain, linking San Francisco to San Jose.

In climate resilience, Newsom spotlighted removing the Klamath Dam, the largest project in U.S. history, restoring salmon migration and tribal lands. He discussed agreements with Italy and Pope Francis to address greenhouse gas emissions and praised the legislature’s action to increase transparency and hold oil companies accountable for gas price spikes.

Turning to health, housing, and education, Newsom outlined progress on Proposition 1 to improve mental health care, legislative efforts to increase housing construction, and the expansion of universal free school meals for all public school students.

Public safety highlights included combating fentanyl trafficking, expanding the California Highway Patrol, and addressing organized retail theft through new legislation.

Newsom also celebrated the state’s balanced budget for the current and upcoming fiscal years. He joked about his detailed budget presentations as his “yearly Super Bowl,” highlighting the importance he places on fiscal responsibility.

The Governor closed by reflecting on 2024 as a year defined by resilience and optimism, crediting California’s ability to navigate polarization and overcome challenges. He emphasized the importance of preserving California’s values of innovation and inclusiveness while continuing to invest in communities, infrastructure, and equity as the state looks ahead to 2025.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 12 – 18, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 12 – 18, 2025

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NAACP Sues Trump Administration Over Dismantling of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The lawsuit comes after a series of drastic actions following the ouster of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. President Trump replaced Chopra with Russell Vought, who immediately instructed staff not to perform any work tasks and ordered the closure of the agency’s headquarters, taking steps to cancel its lease.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The NAACP has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the legality of the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The civil rights organization argues that the move undermines protections for Black, elderly, and vulnerable consumers, leaving them exposed to financial exploitation. NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson condemned the administration’s actions, calling them a reckless assault on consumer protections. “Once again, we are witnessing the dangerous impacts of an overreaching executive office. The Trump Administration’s decision to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens the floodgates for unethical and predatory practices to run rampant,” Johnson stated. “We refuse to stand idly by as our most vulnerable communities are left unprotected due to irresponsible leaders. From seniors and retirees, disabled people, and victims of disaster to so many more, our nation stands to face immense financial hardship and adversity as a result of the elimination of the CFPB. If our President refuses to put people over profit, the NAACP will use every tool possible to put Americans first.”

The lawsuit comes after a series of drastic actions following the ouster of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. President Trump replaced Chopra with Russell Vought, who immediately instructed staff not to perform any work tasks and ordered the closure of the agency’s headquarters, taking steps to cancel its lease. Vought also suspended all investigations, rulemaking, public communications, and enforcement actions. Keisha D. Bross, NAACP Director of Opportunity, Race, and Justice, said the organization maintains its commitment to restoring the bureau’s critical role in protecting consumers. “The CFPB is an agency of the people. From the protection from junk fees to fighting excessive overdraft fees, providing assistance to impacted victims of natural disasters, and holding predatory practices accountable, the NAACP stands firm in bringing back the CFPB,” Bross said. “The NAACP will fight to hold financial entities responsible for the years of inequitable practices from big banks and lenders.”

The lawsuit, filed alongside the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the National Consumer Law Center, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, and the CFPB Employee Association, argues that the administration’s actions violate the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. According to the complaint, the Trump administration has taken deliberate steps to dismantle the CFPB, including firing 70 employees via form email, canceling over $100 million in vendor contracts, and shutting down the agency’s consumer complaint system, which processes hundreds of thousands of cases monthly. The plaintiffs warn that these actions will leave millions of Americans defenseless against financial fraud and predatory lending practices. The lawsuit details the harm already inflicted by the agency’s closure. Among those affected is Rev. Eva Steege, an 83-year-old pastor with a terminal illness who was seeking student loan forgiveness through a CFPB-facilitated program. Her meeting with CFPB staff was abruptly canceled, leaving her without recourse to resolve her debt before passing.

The NAACP and other plaintiffs seek an immediate injunction to halt the administration’s actions and restore the CFPB’s operations. The legal challenge argues that the President has no unilateral authority to dismantle an agency created by Congress and that Vought’s appointment as acting director is unlawful. President Trump has made no secret of his desire to eliminate the CFPB, confirming last week that his administration was working to “totally eliminate” the agency. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, a key player in Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” celebrated the move with a social media post reading “CFPB RIP.”

If successful, the lawsuit could force the administration to reinstate the agency and resume its enforcement actions against financial institutions accused of predatory practices. “Neither the President nor the head of the CFPB has the power to dismantle an agency that Congress established,” the plaintiffs argue. “With each day the agency remains shut down, financial institutions that seek to prey on consumers are emboldened—harming their law-abiding competitors and the consumers who fall victim to them.”

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