President-elect Obama’s announcement of his selection of Shaun Donovan, New York City’s commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development, to be the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has drawn praise from national housing advocates Sheila Crowley of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and Barbara Sard, the director of housing policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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National Low Income Housing Coalition Applauds Choice of Shaun Donovan for HUD Secretary
President-elect Barack Obama has named Shaun Donovan, New York City’s commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development, to be the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The National Low Income Housing Coalition wholeheartedly and enthusiastically supports the choice of Mr. Donovan.
“Shaun Donovan is brilliant choice for HUD. He is an expert on the full range of housing issues and has a proven track record of getting things done,” said Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “And he enjoys high regard across the spectrum of housing interests, from low income housing and homeless advocates, public officials, developers, and financiers alike.”
“Shaun is uniquely qualified to take on one of the most challenging jobs in the Obama Administration. The country is in the throes of a recession precipitated by the foreclosure crisis, which must be solved. Foreclosures and the recession are causing a new surge in homelessness which the new Administration and Congress must act quickly to stop by increasing the supply of rental homes affordable to the lowest income families,” said Crowley. “And HUD as an agency has been sorely neglected for the last eight years and needs leaders who are committed to its mission.”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition has submitted a low income housing proposal to the Obama-Biden Transition Team to be included in the new economic recovery package. For more information on the proposal, go to www.nlihc.org/doc/NLIHC-FINALpg1-12-08.pdf
The Coalition looks forward to working with Mr. Donovan and his team at HUD to put low income housing back on the national agenda.
