Press Release

Last week, 20 potential Democratic nominees for President took the debate stage in Miami over two days to discuss everything from taxes to health care to foreign policy. Largely absent was one of America’s most pressing issues: affordable housing.

Housing affordability is a key challenge in communities across the country and should be at the forefront of our national conversation. A study from Harvard University released last week found that one third of U.S. households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing. A Pew Study found that the number of rent-burdened households has doubled since 2001, as more and more low-income and middle-income families are unable to afford one of the most basic human needs: a roof over their head.

Turning on the tap and getting clean drinking water is something that most of us take for granted. In larger cities with well-funded utility districts, tap water arrives on demand, around the clock and with a promise of safety. Most city and suburban water is treated to the highest quality standards before delivery to our homes and families.

Life is far more complicated for those who live in rural agricultural communities across California. Those residents—their numbers exceed 1 million—often can’t drink the water from their faucets. 

Access to safe drinking water for all is something that most Californians support.