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
In a separate interview with Cheddar on Monday, current HUD Sec. Ben Carson said that education is the single most important thing when it comes to lifting people out of poverty and homelessness.
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.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
The two-sentence footnote raised serious concerns about accuracy and credibility.
Real estate software company RealPage has agreed to stop sharing nonpublic information between landlords as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice.
