Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today held a virtual roundtable with the Nevada Housing Division and Regional Housing Authorities across Nevada to listen to their needs and their concerns. She also discussed with them her work in the Senate to keep Nevadans housed during the pandemic and to protect them as the economy continues to recover.
“I was grateful to speak with Nevadans today who shared their views on the challenges of finding and providing affordable housing during the coronavirus pandemic. I’ll continue working in the Senate to advocate for additional COVID relief funds to keep Nevadans in their homes. I’m also proud to have introduced two bills to address the affordable housing crisis in Nevada by reauthorizing and expanding existing affordable housing programs and doing more to fight housing discrimination. As Nevada begins to recover from the pandemic, this legislation will position the state for the future and address longstanding roadblocks that have prevented Nevadans from finding a safe and secure place to live.”
BACKGROUND:
Senator Cortez Masto is a staunch advocate for affordable housing in Nevada, which faces one of the greatest shortages of affordable housing in the nation. In 2020, she worked to ensure the Nevada Affordable Housing Assistance Corporation retained $18 million to help more than 1,400 families pay their mortgages or down payments. During the coronavirus pandemic, she cosponsored legislation to provide $75 billion in housing assistance to help families struggling to pay their mortgage.
Senator Cortez Masto also introduced the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act of 2020 to establish a new program to help families and individuals pay their rent and remain housed during and after the coronavirus crisis. This week, she introduced the HOME Investment Partnership Reauthorization Act, which would reauthorize the HOME Investment Partnership Program and give federal block grants to state and local government to create affordable housing and provide rental assistance for low-income households. She also introduced the Housing Fairness Act of 2020, which would reaffirm HUD’s commitment to fair housing by increasing funding for fair housing programs, making improvements to the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, reinstating the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, and providing additional funds for research into housing discrimination.
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