Declaring housing as a human right, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Wednesday, Feb. 21, announced the reintroduction of a bill he said would offer a comprehensive approach to addressing the nation’s homelessness and affordable housing crises, including in California.
The Housing for All Act, if approved, would result in a historic investment in federal funding to pay for existing programs to prevent homelessness and to provide housing and other support services to those facing homelessness. The money would also fund innovative local initiatives to remedy these crises.
During a news conference on the rooftop of a five-story, 85-unit permanent supportive housing building near downtown L.A. that was largely paid for through California’s Project Homekey program, Padilla said the issue isn’t a lack of ideas for addressing the crises, but providing resources so that proven solutions can be scaled up.
“The problem boils down to scale,” Padilla said. “We know how to help. But we need the full weight of the federal government to meet the moment.”
More than 653,000 people in the country are experiencing homelessness, including more than 181,000 Californians, and there is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable homes nationwide, the senator said.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who supported the Housing for All Act when she was a member of Congress, joined Padilla and Rep. Ted Lieu, the author of a companion bill to Padilla’s proposed legislation in the House of Representatives, at Wednesday’s news conference.
The mayor said the proposed bill marks another example of all levels of government locking arms and, like Padilla, highlighted the fact that the legislation would support local efforts at addressing homelessness and affordable housing.
“This crisis is not going to be solved at one level of government. This crisis is going to be solved with all levels of government and the private sector coming to the table and saying everybody in Los Angeles has to have…
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