WASHINGTON – People’s Action Director George Goehl today released the following statement in response to media reports that President-elect Joe Biden plans to appoint Rep. Marcia Fudge to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development:

“We congratulate Congresswoman Fudge on her nomination as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. We are hopeful that she will fight for struggling renters nationwide, push beyond incremental policies, and instead tackle systemic inequities and market failures.  

“The Congresswoman’s support of big and overdue ideas like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal make us hopeful that she will also rally behind our Homes Guarantee, a proposal that would ensure safe, affordable, and sustainable housing for all people living in the United States. We look forward to gaining her commitment to this proposal as soon as possible. 

“Representative Fudge will take the reins of HUD during one of the most significant housing crises in American history. Before COVID-19 hit, 21 million households spent more than a third of their income on rent and half a million people slept on the streets on any given night. COVID-19 has laid bare the longstanding structural flaws of our housing policies as landlords may evict as many as 30 million tenants in early 2021. 

“We look forward to working with Secretary Fudge to use the full power of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to cancel rents, to go big on mass social housing, and to de-commodify housing.” 

This post was originally published on Radio Free.