A bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking the agency to evaluate whether the domestic housing market is currently meeting the country’s housing needs. The senators list four issues as evidence that further investigation is necessary: low homeownership rates, particularly for minority households and young adults; the millions of renting households that spend more than 50% of their income on rent; a shortage of affordable homes, particularly for the lowest-income families; and long waits for eligible households to receive federal rental assistance. The letter asks GAO to identify the specific factors contributing to these issues and to examine the long-term impact of failing to act.
The group of senators requesting the GAO evaluation include Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tim Scott (R-SC), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), and Michael Bennet (D-CO). The senators request that the report use a 15-year time horizon and that it discuss the impacts new housing policies could have on “productivity, job creation, economic growth, and tax revenue.” The report is intended to provide insight on the state of housing in America and recommendations to guide policymakers.
Read the letter at: http://bit.ly/2xDi0VQ