CARH Broadcast Email—Legislative Update

On January 14, President-elect Biden announced a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief and economic rescue package entitled, American Rescue Plan – Emergency Legislative Package to Fund Vaccinations, Provide Immediate, Direct Relief to Families Bearing the Brunt of the COVID-19 Crisis, and Support Struggling Communities.

There are three major components to the proposal:

• Mount a national vaccination program, contain COVID-19, and safely reopen schools, including by setting up community vaccination sites nationwide, scaling up testing and tracing, eliminating supply shortage problems, investing in high-quality treatments, providing paid sick leave to contain spread of the virus, addressing health disparities, and making the necessary investments to meet the president-elect’s goal of safely reopening a majority of K-8 schools in the first 100 days.
• Deliver immediate relief to working families by sending $1,400 per-person checks to households across America, providing direct housing and nutrition assistance, expanding access to safe and reliable childcare and affordable healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, and giving families with kids and childless workers an emergency boost this year.
• Support communities that are struggling in the wake of COVID-19 by providing support for the hardest-hit small businesses, especially small businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color, and protecting the jobs of the first responders, transit workers, and other essential workers we depend on.

The plan provides $25 billion in rental assistance for low- and moderate-income households who have lost jobs during the pandemic. That is in addition to the $25 billion lawmakers provided in December. Another $5 billion would be set aside to help struggling renters to pay their utility bills. The plan extends the federal eviction moratorium, set to expire at the end of January, to September 30, as well as allow people with federally-guaranteed mortgages to apply for forbearance until September 30, 2021.

CARH, together with other affordable housing groups, will work with President-Elect Biden’s transition team on the development of proposals that will also include rural communities and residents who live in these communities. The plan released this past Thursday will need to be vetted by the Congress and appropriate committees that are responsible for drafting legislative language.  CARH together with other affordable housing groups sent a letter to President-elect Biden regarding the proposal announced yesterday.

During this continuing crisis CARH staff, executive committee, board members, and members will continue to work with stakeholders and key lawmakers to find the best ways to support all rural communities. Join industry insiders at CARH’s virtual Midyear Meeting January 25-26, 2021, where sessions addressing how this massive legislative package will impact owners, residents, and properties throughout rural America will be discussed. Click here for an agenda of the meeting and click here to register now.