ACTION ALERT

SAVE PUBLIC HOUSING:

Stop the mortgage of Public Property to Banks

Take Action Today!

For the first time in U.S. History, the Federal Government is moving forward with regulations to mortgage off public property to banks and other private financial institutions.

The Housing and Urban Development Department’s plan, called Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), provides for the conversion of Public Housing to Section 8 in order to mortgage the property to banks and other financial institutions.

There is an intrinsic value to public property being owned and operated by the government.  The mortgage of Public Housing puts all public property at risk.  Setting a precedent through public housing may lead to the mortgage of schools, libraries and public parks in order to make improvements to our infrastructure.

Taxpayer dollars will be paid toward mortgage interest for decades, instead of on capital improvements to infrastructure and other important programs.

RAD passed through Congress in November 2011 as one item in an omnibus appropriations bill.

The stated goals on the HUD website:

Demonstration Goals

RAD provides the opportunity to test the conversion of public housing and other HUD-assisted

properties to long-term, project-based Section 8 rental assistance to achieve certain goals,

including the preservation and improvement of these properties through access by public housing

agencies (PHAs) and owners to private debt and equity to address immediate and long-term

capital needs. RAD is also designed to test the extent to which residents have increased housing

choices after the conversion, and the overall impact on the subject properties.

Call your local Congressional Representative and ask them to stop the mortgage of our public property.

Please let us know you have made the call by sending an e-mail to povertymatters@yahoo.com.