Representing NC in DC

“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” This quote from Confucius was Senator Jeff Merkley’s opening line as he addressed hundreds of affordable housing advocates at the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s recent conference. Chris and I, along with a dozen other dedicated advocates from North Carolina were sitting amongst the crowd.

Merkley, the Junior Senator from Oregon, is a housing advocate in his own right. Before coming to Washington DC, he was director of Habitat for Humanity of Portland and director of housing development for Human Solutions, another affordable housing provider in Oregon. He is the only current Senator who has worked in the affordable housing industry. He spoke the crowd about the Housing legislation that will, with any luck, be moving in the U.S. Senate this year. He spoke of the impending financial reform bill and the need for a strong consumer protection agency. He shared that he recently added an amendment to the bill banning prepayment penalties because “we need to deal with consumer issues on a real-time basis”. He also announced that Senator Schumer of New York will be introducing a housing preservation bill as a companion to the bill that moving in the House.

Conference-goers heard from many other leaders on affordable housing issues including Representative Barney Frank, Donna Gambrell, Director of CDFI for the Treasury Department, and Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

While in DC, our North Carolina contingent spent a day and a half meeting with our members of Congress on Capital Hill. We were lucky to have advocates representing all parts of the housing spectrum to help convey our priorities to the Congressional members. Victor Galloway of NCIMED shared the importance of financial reform and strong consumer protections; Nicole Kiefer of the ARC and Kay Zwan of the disAbility Resource Center gave compelling testimony for the need to pass reform of the section 811 housing program for individuals with disabilities; Denise Neunaber of the NC Coalition to End Homelessness asked members to adequately fund McKinney-Vento to better serve the homeless in our state.

For me, it is always invigorating and humbling to be in DC, our nation’s capital; to stand in the shadow of the Capitol Building, where decisions are made that shape the future of our county. As I was proud to be able to represent the NC Housing Coalition, educate our elected officials about the housing needs in North Carolina, and share the experience with so many passionate and devoted affordable housing advocates.

Carley Ruff

Policy and Outreach Coordinator