Fetterman illustrated the magnitude of PA’s housing crisis with stats out of Centre, Pike, Indiana, Montour, Lehigh, Franklin, Allegheny, and Dauphin Counties
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator John Fetterman spoke at the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Development Committee hearing about his recently introduced Whole-Home Repairs Act. The bipartisan bill—which Senator Fetterman introduced last week with Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)—would create a national five-year pilot program to expand on a wildly successful and popular Pennsylvania program designed to help homeowners with critical home repairs.
“Addressing the housing crisis is a top priority for me, and I’m glad to be here today to discuss possible solutions,” said Senator Fetterman. “I’m proud to introduce with my colleague, the distinguished senator from Wyoming, the very bipartisan Whole-Home Repairs Act.”
Watch Sen. Fetterman’s Remarks Here
In his remarks during the hearing, Senator Fetterman outlined the housing crisis that Pennsylvania is facing. He spoke to the challenges that communities all across the commonwealth experience:
- 32% of renters in Centre and Pike Counties are paying more than half their incomes in rent.
- Rents for the average one- or two-bedroom apartments are up to as much as $1,000 a month in Indiana County, $1,200 per month in Montour County, and $2,000 a month in the Lehigh Valley.
- Franklin County is adding 2,000 jobs but isn’t adding enough units that are affordable
- In the Pittsburgh region alone, we are short fifteen thousand units for low-income people.
- In Dauphin County, shelters are at maximum capacity.
Senator Fetterman went on to speak to the value of the existing state program in Pennsylvania and how helpful scaling the program to the national level would be in addressing the housing crisis.
He spoke about a man named Mr. Tyler in Hawley, PA, who is 87 and has worked as a farmer, mechanic, bartender, and deputy sheriff. Mr. Tyler’s roof collapsed and left a hole in the ceiling. The resulting water leaks and exposure had caused partial rotting of the wall and ceiling. Wayne County Whole-Home Repair funds, facilitated through Pennsylvania’s state-level program, were used to make exterior repairs to the roof, ceiling, and wall, as well as weatherization improvements that have reduced his heating bill by two-thirds. The remaining interior work will be completed this month.
The federal Whole-Home Repairs Act is a crucial piece of solving the broader housing shortage the country is facing. When families can’t afford repairs, housing units are lost to blight, which further exacerbates the housing crisis. The bill helps address this issue by allowing more families to keep their homes in good condition so they can stay in them. The bill will also create a one-stop shop that will help ensure that money allocated through existing programs is efficiently spent.
In response to these known problems, a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers passed the Whole-Home Repairs program in 2022 to create a one-stop shop to help with repairs, weatherization, and adaptions in homes for older residents or individuals with disabilities. The program allows low- and moderate-income homeowners and small landlords to apply for grants and loans to make needed repairs. The program was both successful and popular and has helped thousands of people address urgent repair needs. An incredible 95% of Pennsylvania counties applied for funding, demonstrating the breadth and enormity of the need.
The Whole-Home Repairs Act creates a national version of this popular state program.
The Whole-Home Repairs Act has been endorsed by the Housing Assistance Council, National NeighborWorks Association, LISC, Habitat for Humanity, Council for Affordable and Rural Housing, National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Housing Law Project, People’s Action, National Association of Towns and Townships, Window and Door Manufacturers Association, and Pennsylvania Stands Up.