WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Office of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) announced today that Senator King has led a bipartisan group of his colleagues to reintroduce the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act, which aims to better understand the reasons behind America’s housing affordability crisis by creating a bipartisan housing task force to study it and offer practical solutions. The task force would evaluate and quantify the impact of housing costs on other government programs, and provide recommendations to Congress on how to increase affordable housing options in order to improve life outcomes. In addition to Senator King, the legislation is supported by Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

“Communities across Maine and across the country continue to struggle with a shortage of affordable housing, forcing too many Americans to choose between keeping a roof over their head or food on the table,” said Senator King. “This challenge cuts across party lines, and affects rural, urban, and suburban households alike. A problem of this magnitude deserves a pragmatic, bipartisan effort to find a solution. I am hopeful that this task force will give us the information we need to confront this challenge and ensure all Americans have access to affordable housing.”

Specifically, the task force will:

1.     Evaluate and quantify the impact that a lack of affordable housing has on other areas of life and life outcomes for individuals living in the United States, including education, employment, income level, health, nutrition, access to transportation, and poverty level in the neighborhood in which individuals live, regional economic growth, and neighborhood and rural community stability and revitalization.

2.     Evaluate and quantify the costs incurred by other Federal, State, and local programs due to a lack of affordable housing.

3.     Make recommendations to Congress on how to use affordable housing to improve the effectiveness of other Federal programs and improve life outcomes for individuals living in the United States.

When Senator King and his colleagues first introduced the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act was in 2019, the legislation earned the support of over 70 organizations. For a full list of supporters, click here.

For the full bill text, click here.