Press Release Government Inequality

How Presidential Candidates Stand On Rental Housing and Homelessness Policies


November 14, 2019

Contact: Karen Conner, (202) 293-5380 x117Mail_Outline

November 14, 2019

For Immediate Release: November 14, 2019
Contact: Karen Conner, (202) 293-5380 x117, [email protected]

Washington, DC — Housing is an essential need and typically the biggest expense for most people. Understanding the housing planks in the platforms of the presidential hopefuls can help voters make an informed choice. That’s the purpose of a report released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Rental Housing and Homelessness in the 2020 Election: Positions of Presidential Candidates.

The report’s authors, CEPR’s Andrea M. Beaty and Shawn Fremstad, prepared a comparison of rental housing policies expressed or proposed by most of the presidential candidates of the two major parties. This report documents the candidates’ positions on a broad range of rental housing policy, including affordability, housing assistance, tenant protections, discrimination, and homelessness. In addition, it outlines the current funding levels of selected federal housing and homelessness programs.

An example of an effective use of this two-part report is to find if candidates have addressed issues around a particular housing issue, like Section 8 housing, then go to the description of Section 8 and its current funding to see how the stated stance would impact current policy and funding.

The report includes positions of the 11 Democratic presidential candidates that met the eligibility criteria for the last debate on October 15, 2019 and are still running, as of November 13th. The three Republican presidential candidates included in the report are listed as a “notable candidate” by Ballotpedia, and reported receiving individual contributions as of September 30, 2019.

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