WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) led a letter joined by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) to address the housing crisis in New Hampshire by calling on the Treasury to broaden the permissible uses of emergency rental funds.

In their letter to Secretary Yellen, the delegation notes how the pandemic has worsened housing insecurity faced by New Hampshire families, and they ask for as much flexibility in access to funds as possible through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. They also call for an expansion of eligibility for ERA funds to help families afford critical utilities like internet and telephone services, which are currently precluded from inclusion.

“We write regarding implementation of the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, established by the year-end COVID-19 relief and FY21 funding legislation, which makes available $25 billion to assist households that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote the delegation. “As the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the Department) finalizes guidance for the ERA program, we urge you to exercise your authority to make the permissible uses of these funds as broad as possible under the law to ensure States, U.S. Territories, local governments, and Indian tribes have the necessary flexibilities to meet the emergent needs of household across our country.”

They continued: “The number of families experiencing housing insecurity is increasing and our homeless shelters have been forced to open up additional locations to safely accommodate the growing demand for beds while abiding by social distancing protocols, now is not the time for a narrow interpretation of how ERA funds can be put to use…We strongly urge you to provide as much flexibility as possible when defining eligible expenses to allow grantees to maximize the impact of ERA funds as they combat the growing affordable housing crisis.”

Senators Shaheen and Hassan are leading efforts to support vulnerable populations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, Senator Shaheen joined colleagues in reintroducing legislation that would create a $75 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund to help protect struggling homeowners and communities by preventing avoidable foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs, with funding allocated in part based on a formula that weighs state unemployment claims relative to the number of national unemployment claims. Last month, Senator Shaheen hosted a virtual meeting with housing advocates and stakeholders to discuss what support they need to help communities experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. Shaheen and Hassan recently joined the rest of the delegation in announcing more than $8.4 million in funding to support emergency housing for vulnerable Granite Staters during the COVID-19 crisis. Last year, they also helped introduce bipartisan legislation that became law to give the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs greater flexibility in caring for and meeting the needs of homeless veterans in the COVID-19 pandemic.