Beatty Joins Reps. Landsman, Bacon to Announce Bipartisan Bill to Aid Foster and Emancipated Youth in Paying for Campus Housing

WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) joined Congressmen Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), and Don Bacon (R-NE-02) and representatives from the National Foster Youth Institute and the National Center forHousing & Child Welfare to announce bipartisan legislation to assist low-income students in paying for campus housing.

The Campus Housing Affordability Act would allow current foster, former foster, and emancipated youth to use vouchers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for campus housing, reducing their financial burden. This support would allow students to live with their peers, improving academic performance and reducing isolation. By addressing housing insecurity, the bill promotes higher graduation rates and educational success for vulnerable students.

This bill would change some rules in the HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program (also known as Section 8). This change would help make education more accessible by:

• Allowing emancipated youth, young people who have left the foster care system, or are still in it, or use HUD vouchers to pay for campus housing.
• Ensuring these vouchers are not counted as income, so students can still receive need-based scholarships.
• Providing opportunities for students to live on campus, where they can be part of the community and get support.

"Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked across the aisle to shine a light on youth homelessness," said Beatty. "That's why I am pleased to join Representative Landsman in introducing this bipartisan legislation. By waiving HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program Section 8 restrictions for emancipated youth and students currently or formerly in foster care, this legislation will help reduce housing instability-giving these young people one less thing to worry about as they navigate other common barriers to higher education."

"We have a real opportunity to change lives," said Landsman. "I'm confident this bipartisan legislation will help thousands of low-income students afford college because their housing is covered. They can live in a dorm with their peers instead of feeling isolated off-campus, which could lead to better academic performance and greater overall success."

"People across our nation are struggling to navigate the skyrocketing cost of housing," said Lawler. "This is especially true with student housing, which has nearly doubled in price in the last two decades. The inability of emancipated youth, those raised in foster care, and other low-income students to afford this student housing is a massive barrier to higher education for a demographic already severely underrepresented at America's colleges and universities. That's why I'm proud to be joining colleagues in both parties to introduce the Campus Housing Affordability Act, which will enable certain students facing these particular challenges to utilize Section 8 vouchers. For hundreds of thousands of young Americans who lack the means, this legislation represents a gateway to opportunity and a chance to achieve the outer reaches of their potential."

"As a foster care parent, I understand it can be challenging for foster youth students to attend college,"said Bacon. "This legislation removes restraints on college students from receiving housing assistance. With a high rate of homelessness prevalent amongst foster youth amongst youth transitioning out of foster care, this bill will help remove a barrier and ensure more foster youth can complete college. I am happy to join Rep. Landsman on this bipartisan legislation to help foster youth."

Still photos of the conference are available HERE(link is external).

Video of Beatty's remarks is available HERE(link is external).

Full text of the bill is available HERE(link is external).

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