U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut has said he will push for more federal funding to help his state deal with its housing crisis.
He made the pledge at the conclusion of a statewide listening tour on housing held at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield on Monday.
Less than 4% of the U.S. budget is spent on housing, infrastructure, education, science and research, Murphy told the audience.
“There’s no argument that you can’t find a way to spend more than 4% of your national budget on those four categories including getting people more access to good housing,” he said.
“It’s not that we don’t have the money to do this, it's just that we have chosen to spend that money in other places,” Murphy added, noting that much of the federal budget is spent on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and defense.
That’s why he is pushing for more resources for HOME — the Home Investment Partnership Program — a federal block grant that provides funding for states and localities to use exclusively for affordable housing.
Connecticut is facing an acute shortage of housing stock and lack of affordable housing.
Murphy’s listening tour had included stops in Wethersfield, Windham and Waterbury.
