(Dec 28, 2020) Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler
Representatives Elizabeth Fiedler and Austin Davis for The Philadelphia Inquirer : After months of unemployment and underemployment, more people than ever are on the verge of losing the place they call home. The coronavirus pandemic has taken our friends, our mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, sons, and daughters. The coronavirus has taken the lives of our communities’ bus drivers, nurses, sanitation workers, grocery cashiers, teachers, and many, many more. The pandemic has taken so much from our commonwealth. But it doesn’t have to take our homes. During the 2019-2020 legislative session, along with State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D., Phila.), we introduced key legislation to improve the state’s rent and mortgage relief program. The $175 million program was created by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to help residents suffering from financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds were there, but changes needed to be made to ensure the dollars got into the hands of people in need. Our legislation, HB 2837, would have done that by fixing administrative and programmatic issues. For example, it would have based maximum rental assistance on 130% of a community’s HUD Fair Market Rent, rather than a flat $750 cap; allowed the program to function independently of verification through the Department of Labor’s already overtaxed unemployment compensation system; and reserved funds to go to small “mom-and-pop” landlords who, Read more