Urging Senator Pat Toomey and Senate Leadership to take up and act on the Heroes Act, the Helping Homes Act, and the Moving Forward Act, sweeping and transformational resolutions to address the ongoing economic crisis co-sponsored by Congressman Dwight Evans and the Philadelphia congressional delegation.

WHEREAS, As COVID-19 continues to spread, so does the financial harm it brings to communities, increasing housing instability across the United States. The ongoing national emergency deserves a bold federal response to address immediate and long-term affordable solutions; and

WHEREAS, Congress must act quickly to deliver additional economic and housing relief to American households who continue to struggle as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Despite the Senate’s failure to provide another round of federal relief since passing the CARES Act 6 months ago, aggressive action is needed to help communities recover and grow more resilient; and

WHEREAS, The pandemic has caused record high unemployment, placing millions of Americans at risk of falling behind on their rent and mortgage payments. Programs administered by state housing finance agencies have been overwhelmed with demand. In Pennsylvania, the state rental assistance program received over 14,000 applications for relief as of mid-August; and

WHEREAS, The Heroes Act provisions provide will $75 billion to state housing finance agencies to help homeowners cover their mortgage payments, property taxes, and utility payments, $11.5 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) to respond to and prevent COVID-19 outbreaks among individuals experiencing homelessness, $1 billion to fund 100,000 emergency housing vouchers allocated to public housing agencies and targeted to people experiencing homeless or attempting to flee domestic violence; and

WHEREAS,

The Moving Forward Act would also create a new Neighborhood Homes tax credit to subsidize private investment in the rehabilitation of vacant single-family homes or the construction of new homes in distressed communities, which would expand affordable homeownership opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Looking forward to longer-term recovery, Congressman Evans and the Philadelphia delegation urges the Senate to take up the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2), sweeping and transformational infrastructure legislation the House passed 11 weeks ago; and

WHEREAS, A future COVID-19 relief package containing crucial assistance measures would provide a legislative vehicle for enacting critical long-term investments in affordable housing and community development; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Urges

Senator Pat Toomey and Senate Leadership to take up and act on the Heroes Act, the Helping Homes Act, and the Moving Forward Act, sweeping and transformational resolutions to address the ongoing economic crisis co-sponsored by Congressman Dwight Evans and the Philadelphia congressional delegation.

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