Democrats’ Draft Party Platform Commits to HTF Expansion and Section 8 Funding Increases

On July 1, the Democratic Party released its draft platform, a document that went before the full platform committee on July 8, before being debated and finalized at the Democratic Party Convention in Philadelphia at the end of July. 

The platform includes a housing plank or declaration that commits to substantially increase funding for the national Housing Trust Fund to construct, preserve, and rehabilitate millions of affordable housing rental units. The platform notes that such an expansion would “not only help address the affordable housing crisis, it will also create millions of good paying jobs in the process.” The draft housing declaration also commits to increasing incentives for new affordable rental housing development and easing local barriers to building affordable housing in areas of economic opportunity. It states that Democrats will “reinvigorate federal housing production programs, increase resources to repair public housing, and increase funding for the housing choice voucher program,” as well as ensure sufficient funding to end chronic homelessness and defend and strengthen the Fair Housing Act.