National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act

WHEREAS, several Congress members of both parties have introduced the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act (H.R.1102*) to establish a federal housing trust fund to be used to meet a nation-wide goal of producing, rehabilitating and preserving at least 1.5 million units of affordable housing over the next ten years; and

WHEREAS, 75% of the funding from this fund would be devoted to extremely low-income families, such as people working at or near the minimum wage or those living on social security or disability; and

WHEREAS, 78% of Caucasian households own their own homes, but only 48% of African-American and 36% of Hispanic American families own their own residences; and

WHEREAS, it has been observed and demonstrated that home ownership increases family self-esteem, commitment to neighborhood and citizen participation; and

WHEREAS, this National Housing Trust Fund will be based on more than 270 state and local trust funds across the nation that have already produced thousands of units; and

WHEREAS, these local housing trust funds have been used across the nation to leverage new resources to create jobs, increase the real estate tax base and to successfully house more people.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP endorse the principle of a federal Affordable Housing Trust Fund as a sound idea to address a very real and serious problem — the lack of home ownership by racial and ethnic minorities.