U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced his support this week for a federal bill that would invest over $200 billion in zero-carbon public housing called the Green New Deal For Public Housing Act.
Blumenthal is among the co-sponsors of the legislation that would allocate $234 billion over 10 years in federal spending on sustainable, affordable public housing across the country. Blumenthal said that the bill is a chance to improve and continue to build meaningful housing for those who need it, while pursuing the state and nations’ climate facing goals.
Blumenthal said that the amount is still “just a fraction of what we spend on housing every year.”
“We have neglected our public housing, but it offers a dramatic opportunity to make sure that we make that housing as energy efficient, as well as safe and affordable, as possible,” he said. “People in public housing deserve better.”
With mitigating climate change continuing to be a priority for many in Connecticut and in Washington, Blumenthal said that the bill – which could directly benefit as many as 2 million Americans living in public housing communities – would create almost 300,000 jobs.
“We need to address both the housing and climate crisis through drastic renovation, refitting, and construction of new housing for people right now who don’t have any housing,” he said.
Blumenthal said the positive environmental effects of the bill would be the equivalent of removing 1.2 million cars from the road.
The bill would be focused on transforming and improving roughly 900,000 public housing units nationwide, and would also:
- Repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which limits the construction of new public housing developments;
- Ensure all public housing is brought up to new safer, sustainable conditions;
- Provide funding to electrify all public housing, and add sustainable energy sources;
- Build new childcare and senior centers, and expand clean public transportation;
- Create community-based work opportunities and increase resident-owned businesses, and;
- Expand resident councils so that public housing residents can take part in discussion.
Speaking in New Haven, Blumenthal said the city is “at the forefront” of sustainable, safer public housing. The senator was joined by Elm City Communities – which is the housing authority of New Haven – President Karen Dubois-Walton, who said that the bill is exactly what the city and state needs to build high-quality, sustainable housing.
“It is time when we need that real boost, a shot in the arm from our federal government, to re-invest in the housing portfolio, in a way that can bring us to the highest level of energy efficiency,” she said.
Dubois-Walton said her organization services about 6,000 families in the city.
The bill has support from numerous housing and environmental organizations, such as the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
