REQUEST FOR SENATE SUPPORT FOR LOW-INCOME TENANTS

March 16, 2011 Dear Senator Tester, Thank you for voting against the House Tea Party Bill for Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations and for the Senate Appropriations Committee bill last week. We’re expecting Senator Schumer to introduce a scaled down version of the comprehensive Preservation bill in the Senate, based on H.R. 4868, which the House Financial Services Committee reported out last July but never came up for a vote in the house and has yet to be introduced to the Senate. We support H.R. 4868 overall. Specifically, we would like the language beefed up in Section 304 of H. R. 4868 - Access to Information - more like what was in the earlier version of 4868. We would like for you Senator to support the No Cost Tenant Empowerment provisions in H.R. 4868, as well as supporting moving the bill overall to help save and preserve the National Housing Stock. The talking points I would to leave with you today are from last year, 2010, which gives a short summary of what we are supporting in the preservation bill. Another National tenant group that I belong to called the Resident’s Engagement Group which was put together in the late fall of 2009 at the request of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan recently had a telephone conference call with Carrie Johnson, staff person for Representative Ellison from Minnesota, around this same issue of Access to Information. REG is requesting Representative Ellison strengthen the language in RHRA or as the bill was previously known by PETRA, before re-introducing this bill in the house. The RHRA language was based on the paragraph in H.R. 4868, but was watered down in the version Congressman Ellison filed last December. Since RHRA or PETRA isn’t being looked at by the Senate at this time to our knowledge. We would like to ask Senator Tester to join with Senator Schumer’s office in filing a scaled down version of the comprehensive Preservation Bill. Thank you for your time in this matter, Susan Floerchinger, Tenant Advocate Mouse In The Weeds 8276 Huffine Lane Bozeman, MT 59718 (406) 600-1653 http://www.snakewomanspeaks.blogspot.com snakewomanspeaks@gmail.com

EDUCATION AND HOUSING AND JOBS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

http://feedre.com/hud-secretary-outlines-housing-goals-discusses-2012-budge The above link came out March 2, 2011. While deciding what direction the REG< NAHT< and the many other organizations and INDIVIDUALS on the collective action group call: right where Sec. Donovan has taken it himself. I really think it is the best way to go. Click the above link to learn more.

Public Housing

http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/am/overview.cfm Click the above link to understand HUD and Public Housing.

Low Income Section 8 Rental Program In Montana

Section 8 Programs The HUD Section 8 Low Income Rental Assistance Housing Programs provide rental assistance to very low income families throughout Montana. Tenant Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Programs •Housing Choice Vouchers •Moderate Rehabilitation Financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Montana Housing Division. Allow very low income families to pay a set amount towards rent and utilities, based on their gross adjusted income (currently 30%). Very low income families have incomes of 50 percent or less of the HUD median family income . . . . . . click here to learn more:http://housing.mt.gov/about/section8/default.mcpx

LOW INCOME TENANTS SHUT DOWN CHICAGO STREET!!!!!!

More than 300 tenants, service providers and allies from across the Chicago metro-region marched on Friday, February 25 to protest deep cuts to the HUD Budget. Protesters constructed a cardboard box "Tea Party Housing Development" to block traffic on Clark Street during rush hour to draw public attention to the injustice of targeting the deepest federal budget cuts to programs for low-and moderate-income communities, including vital HUD housing programs. Traffic was stopped in front of the Chicago Federal Building housing the Illinois offices of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. 11 protesters participating in the traffic blockade were arrested and released a few hours later. See news links below. The story was picked up in Philadelphia, Dallas and probably other cities (let us know if you saw it in yours). CHI is planning follow up actions to keep the heat on their targets! http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/4014509-418/protestors-rip-republican-cuts-to-housing-budget-block-downtown-traffic.html http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7981132 http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-arrests-protest-loop-hud-feb25,0,4982202.story http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/02/25/police-arrest-11-in-rush-hour-protest-in-the-loop/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-il--protestarrests,0,6381551.story http://www.progressillinois.com/quick-hits/content/2011/02/25/pushback-against-federal-austerity-bubbles-chicago#comments http://www.google.com/search?q=Chicago+loop+protests&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=Chicago+loop+protests&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=UWN&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&tbs=qdr:d&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=WyVpTYKTDtOEtgewpsTmAg&ved=0CCIQmAcwAQ&fp=2affa4daec1e7f43