Dear Friends, 

At the end of July, President Trump issued an executive order unfairly punishing the homeless. We all know that for too many, affordable housing remains out of reach. The President’s disastrous order does nothing to support our homeless population and raises serious ethical questions about how our residents will be treated when they are institutionalized. Last week, I joined Governor Lamont and advocacy groups like the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness to condemn this wrongheaded approach and commit to real solutions on affordable housing. You can view my remarks below.

Despite Republican efforts to slash funding for housing assistance, I worked with the entire Connecticut delegation to increase Housing Choice Voucher funds, so renters can keep up with rising costs. Last year, we secured a $2 billion boost for the program – a 20% increase since 2022. This year, House Republicans are at it again. Their housing plan would cut funding for rental assistance by $5 billion, putting nearly 415,000 households at risk of eviction. As Americans face a cost-of-living crisis, kicking people off of this support is the last thing we should be doing. We defeated their cuts in last year’s budget – and I am determined to protect this program again.       

Everyone deserves a quality and affordable home, regardless of zip code. Through my work in Congress, I recently secured $1.6 million in federal funding to build an affordable housing complex in Barkhamsted – the first in the region, along with $500,000 to help construct housing at the former Westbrook Village complex in Hartford. I also helped direct almost $5 million in federal funding to build new housing and make much-needed repairs in communities like Windsor, East Windsor, and Southington, and $500,000 for Mercy Housing and Shelter to improve their facilities and better assist the homeless as they transition to permanent, stable housing.  

Rep. Larson with Mercy Housing and Shelter in Hartford 

I have also introduced two bipartisan bills to tackle our housing crisis:

• The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act would spur the development of 500,000 affordable, single-family homes over the next ten years by incentivizing the construction of new homes and the revitalization of vacant homes in need of repair. It was recently endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and two former Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development. 
  
• The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act would create a new incentive system to convert vacant office buildings into affordable housing. As downtowns in cities like Hartford saw a rise in building vacancies coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, our bill offers a new path forward to meet the demand for rental units in cities like Hartford. 

I will continue to advance solutions in Congress that support our homeless population and take on the affordable housing crisis – not criminalize people if they can’t afford a home. To follow what I’m working on both in Washington and in Connecticut, visit my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or follow me on Instagram.     

Regards,

John B. Larson
Member of Congress