Habitat for Humanity congratulates U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge as HUD secretary nominee

ATLANTA (December 11, 2020) – Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford issued the following statement regarding President-elect Joe Biden’s selection of U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio as nominee to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:

“Congratulations to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge for her nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Habitat for Humanity, with our network of over 1,000 local affiliates, has been a long-standing partner of HUD, playing a critical role to help meet our shared objective of providing home affordability to families across the country. On behalf of our Habitat network, I wish Congresswoman Fudge the very best as she seeks confirmation to lead this critical agency – especially at this time of tremendous need in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has shown how important a safe and affordable home is. But those homes are still out of reach for far too many families in America. Even before the pandemic, more than 17 million U.S. households were spending half or more of their income on a place to live. Now, as the significant economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to unfold, millions of families who have lost income through no fault of their own are on the brink of losing their homes. Most urgently, vital eviction and foreclosure moratoria are set to expire this month absent further federal action.

“Habitat encourages Congresswoman Fudge to work closely with Congress to find bipartisan solutions to respond to the pandemic and support housing affordability as a vital part of our economic recovery. We look forward to working with her to address the growing housing crisis faced by so many families in communities all across the country.”

Through its five-year Cost of Home campaign, Habitat is working with policymakers at all levels of government to find and implement policy solutions that will enable access to affordable homes for 10 million individuals. Learn more at habitat.org/costofhome.

About Habitat for Humanity

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia. The Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S., and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.