Woonsocket Radio News Room

Speaker Shekarchi testifies on housing before U.S. Senate Budget Committee

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi testified before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee at a hearing entitled “The Costs of Inaction: Economic Risks from Housing Unaffordability.” Speaker Shekarchi was invited to testify by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and he was introduced by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI).

Speaker Shekarchi testified in support of the Affordable Housing Construction Act, which is sponsored by Sen. Whitehouse and cosponsored by Sen. Reed.

“Housing issues are not unique to Rhode Island: At a recent National Governors Meeting, every single state listed housing as its top issue, and HUD estimates that the national shortage of housing units is more than six million homes,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “I was thrilled to be invited to testify in Washington at Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s request, and I whole-heartedly support his proposed legislation to significantly increase the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. In tackling our housing crisis, we need to look at every possible tool at our disposal, and LIHTCs are a proven means of attracting investments in affordable housing.  I sincerely thank Senator Whitehouse, as well as Senator Jack Reed, who is another strong advocate for affordable housing and supports this legislation, for creating innovative solutions to address this pressing issue.”

During his testimony, Speaker Shekarchi outlined the measures he has taken to address Rhode Island’s housing crisis, including shepherding the passage of nearly 50 new housing laws and forming several legislative study commissions to examine multiple facets of the issue.

“As I shared with the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, Rhode Island’s small size makes us the ideal partner for the federal government on housing issues,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “We are a nimble state and have shown that we can quickly move housing legislation. Rhode Island is the ideal incubator in which to pilot innovative, creative housing programs, and I look forward to continuing to work with our federal partners to find meaningful solutions for our housing shortage.”

Speaker Shekarchi’s written testimony is online at https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/honjosephshekarchitestimonysenatebudgetcommittee.pdf.

Video of the hearing is online at https://www.budget.senate.gov/hearings/the-costs-of-inaction-economic-risks-from-housing-unaffordability.

 

 

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