From the Executive Director: Now Is the Time!

With just a few work days left this legislative session, now is our last shot to make sure that Minnesota’s legislative leadership and Governor Dayton commit substantial bonding funds to housing. With homelessness on the rise and one-quarter of the state’s renters paying over half of their income for housing, we…

Sen. Franken Bill Would Help Homeless Students

For many years Minnesota advocates have joined others across the country in trying to fix a policy which forces young, formerly homeless people to choose between a roof over their heads and devoting themselves full time to getting an education. Minnesota’s own Senator Al Franken has recently introduced a new…

Mortgage Interest Reform: One Step Closer to Reality

Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison recently introduced a bill to reform the Mortgage Interest Deduction to make it more equitable for middle and lower income homeowners and to use the billions saved from this reform to fund affordable housing programs. We recently reported on a poll that surveyed America’s attitudes toward the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID). …

Congress Deal Means Both Housing Victories and Woes

While many were celebrating the coming of the New Year with friends and family, Congress was frantically trying to pass legislation to prevent the country from falling off the fiscal cliff.  During the early hours of New Years, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was passed.  While considered an imperfect…

Rep. Paulsen Tours Apartment for Formerly Homeless Youth

On February 22, U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen met with housing advocates, providers, and a formerly homeless young man to discuss an issue facing too many homeless students in Minnesota.  This troubling issue stems from an unintended consequence of a well intended rule in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.  The…

Sequestration Impacts Hit Home

Sequestration, automatic across-the-board cuts to federal defense and non-defense discretionary spending, was meant to be a disincentive for political gridlock.  However, it apparently did not serve its intended purpose as federal lawmakers were not able to agree on a deficit reduction package by the March 1st deadline. Though advocates hoped Congress…