Klobuchar releases $1 trillion housing, poverty reduction plan
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday she would invest $1 trillion toward improving housing and poverty reduction.
Klobuchar’s “Housing First Plan” was released Thursday, hours before the senator took the stage with six of her opponents at the last Democratic primary debate of the year.
Klobuchar is calling to fund the Housing Trust Fund at a minimum of $40 billion per year. The money would go toward building, fixing and operating homes for low-income families.
Additionally, Klobuchar calls for limiting wait times for housing assistance to three months, down from the nearly two to three years her campaign said Americans may wait on a list. The plan also calls for a new grant program for states to provide temporary support for those at risk of homelessness while they wait for housing assistance.
The senator also proposes creating a federal grant program to help states increase outreach to low-income renters and make them aware of resources available to them. To ease issues connecting low-income renters to affordable housing, Klobuchar also calls for reducing associated fees and streamlining the application process.
In an effort to combat segregation and discrimination, Klobuchar proposes banning landlords from discriminating against people based on the source of their income, including housing vouchers or disability benefits.
Klobuchar’s campaign said the proposal would be funded from revenue from ending the war in Afghanistan and repealing portions of the 2017 tax bill backed by Republicans. Funding would also come from “strengthening tools to crack down on international tax havens” as well as creating a new minimum tax on large corporations.
Klobuchar will take part in the Democratic debate Thursday night alongside six other candidates: former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer.
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