Just Economy Conference – May 3, 2021
Senator Charles Schumer, (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader
Transcript
NCRC video transcripts are produced by a third-party transcription service and may contain errors. They are lightly edited for style and clarity.
Schumer 0:00
Congratulations to the NCRC for celebrating 30 excellent years. Thanks to NCRC founder and president john Taylor, CEO Jesse van toll, as well as Bob Dickerson and Katie Crosby for their incredible leadership. Because of NCRC working families have a seat at the table, are better able to afford a place to live, and policymakers are able to make better decisions. We need you now more than ever. The last 13 months have been some of the most painful and living memory for working families. And as we overcome this pandemic, we can’t be satisfied with going back to the way things were before. We must lay a new foundation for a fairer, more prosperous country, where everyone, everyone has the chance to live with dignity. The American rescue plan gave us a good start. And I was especially proud that we secured several important housing provisions, including $22 billion in American emergency rental assistance on top of the $25 billion provided in December, I fought very hard for both those allocations. $5 billion to help combat homelessness, $5 billion in emergency housing vouchers, $10 billion to help families pay the mortgage, and hundreds of millions to keep fair housing organizations, improve housing counseling, and rural rent assistance. Nothing has been done on a more comprehensive basis for housing in a very, very long time. These policies, as you know, were desperately needed, but they’re only the start. Through the President’s build back better agenda. We’ll keep going by making historic investments to expand affordable housing, billions for high speed internet, new opportunities for clean energy for all communities, and so, so much more. These are just some of the investments needed to build an economy that works for everyone, especially neighborhoods that have long been left behind. I also pledged to work with you to strengthen the CRA, which I have long supported in which came under relentless attack by the Trump administration. For years the CRA has been crucial in making sure banks invest in low income neighborhoods provide mortgages, loans for small businesses, and so many other things. Donald Trump abandoned these principles and let banks get CRA credit for projects that had little impact on their communities. As we work to reform, modernize, and hopefully expand the CRA, it’ll be my number one goal to refocus CRA s priorities to benefit those who truly need help. So thanks, thanks for all your work. We still have a lot to do. But I’m confident with your help, our recovery will truly be a just recovery and working families get the support and opportunity they deserve. So thank you all so much, and I hope to see you soon
