Velázquez Leads 11 NYC Members of Congress in Letter to Speaker Pelosi, Urging $80 Billion for Public Housing Repairs in Build Back Better Act

Washington, D.C.—As Congress continues to develop President Biden's Build Back Better Act, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) today sent a letter along with eleven New York members of Congress to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stressing the importance of maintaining the $80 billion for public housing capital repairs nationwide that passed in the House Financial Services Committee's markup on reconciliation.

"Federal disinvestment in public housing has forced many residents to live in accelerating substandard living," wrote the lawmakers. "The state of our nation's public housing system has become a public health crisis, but it is a fixable public health crisis. The $80 billion invested by the Financial Services Committee is enough funding to eliminate the public housing capital backlog for all public housing authorities nationwide. Housing is infrastructure. A once in a generation investment in our nation's housing infrastructure must therefore address all the repair needs of our nation's public housing system."

In addition to Velázquez, the letter was signed by Representatives: Yvette D. Clarke, Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold L. Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ritchie Torres, Thomas R. Suozzi, Jamaal Bowman Ed.D., Gregory W. Meeks, Adriano Espaillat, Hakeem Jeffries, and Grace Meng.

A PDF of the letter is online here.