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DC Statehood Green Party |
| Statehood Greens Urge D.C. Council to Support Tenants, the Disabled in 2004 Budget. |
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THE D.C. STATEHOOD GREEN PARTY Contact: D.C. Council must maintain and fund the Rental Housing Commission, Housing Production Trust Fund, and Interim Disability Assistance, say D.C. Statehood Greens. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The D.C. Statehood Green Party is urging D.C. Council to support the District's tenants and disabled and low income residents when Council votes on the Fiscal Year 2004 budget bill on Tuesday, May 6. Statehood Greens are calling on D.C. Council and Mayor Anthony Williams to: *** Maintain the Rental Housing Commission (RHC). Mayor Williams, with support from some D.C. Council members, intends to eliminate the RHC in the FY 2004 Budget Support Bill (B#15-0218). Statehood Greens are asking Council to reject this proposal. "If the RHC is abolished, tenants who want to file appeals under the D.C. Rent Control law will have to go to the D.C. Court of Appeals," said Statehood Green Party member Jenefer Ellingston. "Hearing Examiners in the appeals court process usually side with landlords' attorneys. This is an attack by Mayor Williams on rent control and on tenants, and a gift on a silver platter to landlords and real estate interests that donate heavily to election campaigns." *** Restore full funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund, which produces approximately 2,000 units of sorely needed affordable housing in D.C. each year, reduces the current housing crisis, and generates revenue for the District. *** Restore full funding for Interim Disability Assistance (IDA). D.C. Council recently found funds to sustain IDA for the rest of 2003. But the Mayor's proposed 2004 budget would eliminates funding for IDA, threatening it with elimination as of October 1, 2003. This would create an emergency for about 800 D.C. residents who receive IDA as their sole or primary income, and who would face homelessness and further health crises. In demanding affordable housing, tenants' protections, and disability assistance, the D.C. Statehood Green Party joins numerous tenants' and affordable housing advocacy organizations, including D.C. Housing Justice and Washington Inner-city Self Help (Project WISH). MORE INFORMATION
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