Senator Patty Murray holds Affordable Housing Roundtable at LIHI

Senator Murray, center, with Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss and Sharon Lee

On Tuesday, February 17th, in Seattle, after securing millions for housing programs across Puget Sound, Senator Patty Murray held a roundtable discussion at the Low Income Housing Institute with local affordable housing providers and partners on the importance of lowering the cost of housing and the urgent need to address the homelessness crisis. She highlighted how she protected housing funds and programs that tackle homelessness from drastic cuts by Trump, and secured millions of dollars for affordable housing projects across Seattle and King County.

Local non-profit housing leaders and elected officials detailed the challenges their clients and constituents have faced in accessing affordable housing, and thanked Senator Murray for the vital HUD funds she is providing to build new and preserve affordable housing. 

Housing leaders who spoke during the round table included: 

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Sharon Lee, Founder & Executive Director, Low Income Housing Institute Iris Friday, Board Chair, Interim Executive Director, Seattle Indian Services Commission Colleen Echohawk-Hayashi, CEO, Community Roots Housing Paul Lwali, President & CEO, Friends of Youth Dan Strauss, Seattle City Council Member, District 6 Susan Boyd, CEO at Bellwether Housing Derrick Belgarde, Executive Director at Chief Seattle Club

Senator Murray shared a message of hope:

"I don't think it's a surprise if I say it's been darn tough in the other Washington for housing this year. I think President Trump made it really challenging in an already challenging world or more challenging, firing federal workers and freezing federal programs and all the chaos and proposed his proposed budget that cut out half of housing. Well, to me, that was really unacceptable, because I know if you have a home, then you have safety, you have security, you have an opportunity.

"And that is really important that as a country, we provide that basic value of housing. So I went to work on the Appropriations Committee and made it a priority of mine that we would fund housing and literally ripped up President Trump's budget that was just so horrible. And I wanted to come here and celebrate because we finally got it passed.

"And I wanted you to know that we secured not the half the funding he wanted, but an historic $7.2 billion increase for housing. And as Vice Chair of Appropriations, one of the things I work really hard on is congressionally directed spending. We used to call them earmarks, but we'll call them congressionally directed, whatever.

"And I wanted you to know that I was able to do really well on housing this year because I made it such a focus. We got funds to support 38 affordable housing units for families and foster system in Renton, 150 units of affordable housing through the Low Income Housing Institute, 881 units through Bellwether Housing, 162 affordable housing units through the Seattle Indian Services Commission, another 500 through the City of Seattle's Fort Lawton Redevelopment Project, and safety upgrades to make sure we could retain 38 units for housing for Community Roots Housing. That is over 1,000 units here in King County, which will make a difference, as every one of you knows.

"So I want you to know, do not ever give up, fight back. And when you do, you can make a difference. Is it everything we want? Absolutely not. Is there a lot of work ahead? Of course. But I wanted to come here and share that good news with all of you and to hear from all of you what the challenges and opportunities are. So I really appreciate every one of you who are here today to share."

Full update on the work Senator Murray has been doing for people of Washington.

In addressing Senator Murray, Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director said: “We were really struck and surprised and thankful for the contribution you made. You just put money in the HUD budget. It's so amazing; it's so great. I think if you were not there the HUD budget would be less than half of what it is. You really made a difference, Look at all the HUD programs – HOME, CDBG, Continuum of Care, National Housing Trust Fund – we all use and benefit from.”

In a statement after the roundtable, Senator Murray said, “I’m proud to have secured tens of millions of dollars in direct funding for local housing organizations across Washington state—including $3 million for Low Income Housing Institute’s affordable housing project on 45th and Roosevelt, part of Sound Transit’s transit-oriented development program. The 150-unit building will also include an Urban Rest Stop, a public place for people to take showers and use the restroom for free—which will be such a vital resource to the community. This is money that makes an almost immediate impact helping community leaders to build more homes, bring down the cost of housing, and address homelessness. I am thrilled to bring these federal dollars back to Washington state, to important organizations like LIHI, who are doing transformative work to tackle the housing affordability and homelessness crisis. Trump wants to build a ballroom—I want to build more affordable housing so everyone can afford a place to call home.”

LIHI’s mixed-use 45th and Roosevelt Way TOD project is located in Seattle’s U District. This mixed-use building will include affordable housing for families and individuals above street level commercial space. The land is currently owned by Sound Transit and will be sold below market to LIHI. An Urban Rest Stop, a hygiene facility with free showers, restroom and laundry facilities, is proposed in a portion of the first floor commercial space.

LIHI staff with Senator Murray