Among the more ambitious parts of Joe Biden's policy agenda, announced to little fanfare just before the pandemic hit back in February, is a relatively straightforward idea: make the federal housing voucher program — known as Section 8 — universal, available to every low-income family who qualifies.
That policy alone, the focal point of Biden's $640 billion housing plan, would go a long way toward solving this country's affordable housing crisis, according to Julian Castro, the former HUD secretary under President Obama.
The crisis has been exacerbated by COVID-19; an estimated 20 million people are at risk of eviction over the next several months, as state and local moratoriums enacted in March begin to expire along with the federal enhanced unemployment benefits. But even in the absence of an event like coronavirus, expanding Section 8 might be the single best — and most realistic — policy that a Biden administration could pass that would close the delta between families who need access to affordable housing, and families who actually get it, according to Castro. (Right now, an estimated 11 million people are left out).
While homelessness had been on the decline, it has ticked back up in recent years, partially, Castro said, because the Trump administration has not prioritized action on affordable housing
Education is clearly important, Castro said, but it gives a pass to the federal government's responsibility to invest in housing.
"There's no commitment in this administration to actually make those investments," he said, noting that there has been no action in the Republican-controlled Senate on the HEROES Act, which would provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance for those affected by the pandemic.
But the root problem — spiking rents, not enough inventory, a general decline in the welfare state — long preceded coronavirus.
"The scale of the problem we have...requires significant federal government investment in more affordable housing," Castro said.
Minh-Thu Pham, co-founder of New American Voices, joins Cheddar News to discuss the organization and why new citizens are key to defending U.S. democracy.
Joel Willett, a former CIA operative, joins Cheddar News to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin officially launching a "special military operation" in Ukraine
Ursula Perano, politics reporter at the Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the wave of 30 House Democrats retiring or not seeking re-election in November.
Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the high court's latest ruling in an Alabama gerrymandering case that could end up further chipping away at the Voting Rights Act.
GLAAD, the media watchdog for the LGBTQ community, released its “Where We Are on TV” report last week, with updated data on the entertainment industry. Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer for the non-profit organization, joined Cheddar News to talk about the progress that has been made on media representation and what's at stake in the process of humanizing queer people in popular culture as a recent backlash in legislative trends demonstrated. "We just saw the news yesterday in Texas, a move from Governor Abbott that would try to pull trans youth away from their parents for receiving gender-affirming care," Ferraro said. "And television and entertainment can be a frontline to preventing such anti-LGBTQ legislation from moving forward."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun. Explosions and sirens were reported across the country early Thursday morning, as Russia launched a wide-ranging attack with shelling, tanks, and missile strikes. Lauren Baer, former State Department Senior Adviser and current Managing Partner at Arena, joined Cheddar to provide the latest update on the crisis.
A six-year battle over equal pay has finally come to an end-- as U.S. Soccer and The United States Women's Soccer Team have agreed to settle their lawsuit. Under the terms of the deal, the athletes will receive $24 million from U.S. Soccer, and a pledge from the federation to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. Lily Roberts, Managing Director of the Poverty to Prosperity Team at the Center for American Progress joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has hit back against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany, and declaring that America will stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
