Last week the US House and Senate passed the Housing Bill and today President Bush signed that bill into law.  Senator Kerry had four different provisons in the bill that will assist families in obtaining funding for home loans and in assisting some families in danger of losing  their homes in the current foreclosure crisis.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NIHLC) praised Senator Kerry for the work he did in getting the provision establishing a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund legislation through the Congress.

In 2000, Kerry wrote the first National Affordable Housing Trust Fund legislation to construct, rehabilitate, and preserve 1.5 million units of housing over the next 10 years.

"For too long, our nation's poorest citizens have gotten the short of the stick when it comes to housing. By establishing the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund we will help our most vulnerable families live in decent, safe and affordable rental housing," said Senator Kerry. "Foreclosures are devastating thousands of families across Massachusetts each and every day and this housing bill will finally help them stay in their homes and help put our economy on the road to recovery."

"The National Housing Trust Fund campaign began under Senator Kerry's leadership when he introduced a bill to establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in 2000. With the enactment of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 today, together we have achieved success. The result is a renewed commitment by the Federal government to solving the housing problems of the very poorest families in our nation, who have been overlooked and neglected for too long," said Shelia Crowley, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The NIHLC has been engaged in the fight to pass this legislation for years.  Sen. Kerry, as the above passage notes, filed this bill initially in the 106th Congress in 2000.  It has been a long fight to get this needed initiative passed and establish a way to help a lot of families obtain a means to get housing. This is truly a great accomplishment and it's great to see the NIHLC celebrate the passage of this needed initiative.