{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sykes.house.gov/media/press-releases/sykes-lee-and-evans-introduce-the-keep-affordable-housing-in-forgotten-communities-act", "Sykes, Lee, and Evans Introduce the Keep Affordable Housing in Forgotten Communities Act", "2024-10-08", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Emilia Strong Sykes", "S001223", "sykes.house.gov", "sykes", "https://sykes.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Legislation to Preserve Affordable Housing and Prevent Displacement in Revitalizing Communities\n\nAkron, OH \u2013 U.S. Representatives Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Dwight Evans (PA-03) introduced the Keep Affordable Housing in Forgotten Communities Act, landmark legislation designed to safeguard affordable housing in neighborhoods undergoing redevelopment. This bill builds on the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP) to ensure that critical revitalization efforts don't result in the displacement of long-term residents.\n\n\u201cCommunities are made strong by the people who live in them. That\u2019s why I am working to increase housing affordability and to protect longtime residents from being displaced from their neighborhoods as they undergo revitalization,\u201d said Rep. Sykes. \u201cI am proud to introduce this bill with my colleagues, Reps. Lee and Evans, to ensure that working families can afford to live in the communities they\u2019ve called home for generations.\u201d\n\n\"For far too long, infrastructure projects and revitalization efforts have failed to prioritize affordable housing, pushing out the very people who stuck through the hardest times,\" said Rep. Lee. \"This legislation puts the needs of working-class families first and ensures that revitalization efforts aren\u2019t at the expense of the residents who have called these communities home for decades. It's about justice, it's about dignity, and it's about keeping housing affordable for those who need it most.\"\n\n\u201cAs a co-lead sponsor of the Reconnecting Communities program in the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s Infrastructure and Jobs Act, I see this affordable-housing bill as a useful complement to that law. It would build on that effort to protect vulnerable communities and help their residents to benefit from redevelopment\u201d said Rep. Evans.\n\nAs communities across the country work to revitalize towns and cities, residents who have lived in these neighborhoods for generations are often priced out by rising rents and private equity buyouts. The Keep Affordable Housing in Forgotten Communities Act addresses this issue by promoting the use of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and other affordable housing models to ensure long-term affordability and community stability.\n\nKey Provisions of the Keep Affordable Housing in Forgotten Communities Act:\n\nPreserving Long-Term Affordability: Promotes the use of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) to maintain affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents for at least 30 years.\n\nPreventing Displacement: Empowers grant recipients to incorporate affordable housing solutions from the outset of infrastructure redevelopment projects to protect residents from displacement.\n\nEncouraging Inclusive Housing Options: Supports shared equity homeownership models, resident-owned communities, and rental programs that prioritize affordability and community control.\n\nProactive Planning for Affordable Housing: Allows funds to be used to purchase properties near redevelopment projects for affordable housing through CLTs, land banks, and nonprofits.\n\nIncreasing Transparency and Accountability: Requires a joint report from the Department of Transportation and HUD to track rent, homeownership costs, and demographic shifts in areas impacted by the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, ensuring affordability goals are met.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sykes.house.gov/media/press-releases/sykes-lee-and-evans-introduce-the-keep-affordable-housing-in-forgotten-communities-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.109103021211922, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}