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Congresswoman Maxine Waters Introduces H. Res. 582, Recognizing Children’s Right to Housing

July 27, 2009

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, today introduced H. Res. 582 recognizing children's right to adequate housing.  The resolution builds off recent efforts by Congress and the Obama Administration to address homelessness in the nation.

"It's important that Congress acknowledge the fundamental right of children to adequate housing.  Nearly 200,000 children and youth are homeless each night in America. It is appalling and unacceptable that so many children are living on the streets without shelter. The dangers of not having safe and adequate housing are especially harmful to children's health and development," said Congresswoman Waters. 

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, hundreds of thousands of American children will be homeless over the course of a year and millions more are living in substandard, overcrowded, or precarious situations, placing them at heightened risk of illness, serious injury, hunger, and educational delay. H. Res. 582 is a reminder that an unacceptably large number of children and youth in the country experience homelessness every year and calls for the creation and development of programs at the federal, state, and local levels to address the housing needs of low-income children and youth at risk of becoming homeless. 

In May of this year, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed S.896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, which included the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, which Congresswoman Waters was instrumental in drafting. President Obama signed S.896 into law on May 20. The HEARTH Act provides better tools and significantly increases resources to communities to prevent and end homelessness. 

Furthermore, it improves upon the role of the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) to coordinate a federal response to homelessness and create a national partnership with every level of government and the private sector to address homelessness in the nation. Last week, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, along with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, held the first meeting of the ICH under the new Obama Administration.

"I would like to commend President Obama for signing S.896 into law, which includes the HEARTH Act, improving upon the role of the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) and ensuring communities have new resources and tools to address homelessness.  My resolution upholds the mission of the ICH to prioritize projects and coordinate programs at every level of government to prevent and end homelessness in this country," said Congresswoman Waters.

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Issues:Housing