Congressman Cleaver, Senator Menendez Introduce Affordable Housing Legislation to Revitalize Underserved Neighborhoods

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Chair of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance, announced the introduction of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2021. The legislation supports locally driven strategies to revitalize underserved neighborhoods by making permanent the Choice Neighborhoods grant program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

"Affordable housing is the mother's milk of economic prosperity--and the Choice Neighborhoods program has demonstrated how federal funding, in conjunction with private investment, for affordable and public housing can uplift underserved communities throughout the nation. The vision of Choice Neighborhoods is to bring together the public sector, private sector, and community leaders to revitalize not only distressed housing, but also transform the surrounding neighborhood," said Congressman Cleaver. "By strengthening and making permanent this extraordinarily successful federal program, Congress has an opportunity to lift up neighborhoods that have been neglected for far too long. I'm proud to introduce this important piece of legislation with Senator Menendez, and I look forward to working with him as it makes its way through the legislative process."

"The Choice Neighborhood Initiative Act of 2021 will bolster a successful federal program to revitalize distressed neighborhoods and address communities' affordable housing needs and challenges," said Sen. Menendez. "Despite Choice Neighborhood's record of success and broad support, Congress has never fully authorized the program. This legislation would make the Choice Neighborhoods program permanent, providing the resources our local communities need to leverage private investment, build on their strengths, and improve the lives of residents."

The Choice Neighborhoods program leverages public and private resources to transform underserved neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing into mixed-income communities with improved access to jobs, high-quality public schools, and public transportation. Choice Neighborhoods projects leveraged seven dollars of private investment for every dollar in federal spending from 2010-2015, bringing in almost $3.7 billion in additional funding to revitalize distressed neighborhoods. In 2016, HUD executed a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods grant in Missouri's 5th District utilizing nearly 30 community partners to support the revitalization of the Paseo Gateway area.

Specifically, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2021 would:

Authorize $1 billion for HUD's Choice Neighborhoods program for Fiscal Year 2022 and such sums as may be necessary in each subsequent fiscal year;
Strengthen program requirements relating to eligible applications, community involvement, and the temporary relocation of public and assisted housing residents.
"The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative has proven to be a catalytic and transformative program that revitalizes communities through quality affordable housing options and a holistic, people-centered approach," said Geoff Jolley, Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Greater Kansas City. "I commend Congressman Cleaver and Senator Menendez for their vision and leadership in proposing a permanent framework for this successful program."

"Mattie Rhodes Center has seen a dramatic impact in the neighborhoods and families we serve. The development of new housing through Choice funding has been able to revitalize corners of the community that were previously blighted and lacked true investment. In addition, the innovative model of multi-family housing implemented has brought together a myriad of socioeconomic diversity living side by side, fostering growth and unity. The initial idea behind Choice funding was to stimulate additional investment within the area, creating healthy, safe communities for generations of families who call this part of the city home, and Mattie Rhodes looks forward to continued infrastructure investment coming soon to Independence Ave and Paseo Blvd," said John Fierro, President and CEO of the Mattie Rhodes Center.

Original cosponsors of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2021 include Representatives Dwight Evans (D-PA), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), and Diana DeGette (D-CO).

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