Discharge Petition Filed for the National Housing Trust Fund
Campaign

Projected Signature Date: September 14 or 15, 2004

On the night of July 22, in a big step for the National Housing
Trust Fund (NHTF) Campaign, three co-sponsors of the National
Affordable Housing Trust Fund
(http://ga1.org/ct/A1qEh741U7TQ/NHTF/)legislation filed a
motion for a discharge petition in an attempt to move the bill,
H.R. 1102, to the floor of the House for debate and an
"up-or-down" vote.

The National Housing Trust Fund legislation, now in the House of
Representatives, has an impressive 214 co-sponsors. The
leadership of the Financial Services Committee, which has
jurisdiction over the bill, however, has not taken up the bill.
In response to the Committee's disregard, Representatives
Barbara Lee (D-CA), Michael Capuano (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders
(I-VT) filed the motion in an effort to move forward the
National Housing Trust Fund.

What would a discharge petition do?
The petition would "discharge" the Committee of its
responsibility in considering the bill. If a majority of Members
sign the petition, the bill can come directly to the House
floor. In addition, the very existence of a discharge petition,
because they are used so infrequently, raises the profile of a
bill. The most recent example of legislation successfully
kick-started by the discharge petition is the McCain-Feingold
campaign for finance reform. Please note that a signature on the
discharge petition is not a vote for the bill itself; it is
simply support for consideration of the bill by the full House.

How will the discharge petition work?
A discharge petition needs 218 signatures (a majority of the
House) before the House can consider taking up the bill. A vote
is taken then as to whether or not to schedule the bill for
action. The National Housing Trust Fund currently has 214
co-sponsors, five of them non-voting. This means that if NHTF is
able to get all of their current co-sponsors to sign the
petition, it will only need nine additional members.

When can the discharge petition be signed, and by WHOM?
The petition must be signed by the Member in person, while
Congress is in session. In addition, the petition cannot be
signed until seven legislative days after it has been
introduced. Together, these items mean that while the petition
was introduced on July 22, Members will not be able to sign it
until Congress comes back from its summer recess in early
September. The first date that it can be signed is projected to
be September 14 or 15.

This gives plenty of time to contact Members' offices to inform
them of the importance of signing the discharge petition.

What action should Trust Fund Supporters take to get the
petition signed?
There are two main steps each endorser can take:

1. Call your Member of Congress in his or her Washington, D.C.
office. Call toll-free at (888) 864-NHTF or click here
(http://ga1.org/ct/AdqEh741U7TR/NLIHC/) and enter your zip code
to find your local district office.

Visit the National Low Income Housing Coalition
(http://ga1.org/ct/A7qEh741U7TY/NLIHC_NEWS)site to find out
more details about the steps that should be taken during the
telephone call with your local member's office.

2. Arrange to meet with your Member of Congress in his or her
district office over the recess. Call the district office
(follow the same steps as mentioned above to find your local
office) and tell the person who answers the phone you would like
to set up a time to meet with the Member to discuss affordable
housing issues, specifically the National Housing Trust Fund.
The office will tell you what steps you need to take to arrange
a meeting. You may want to consider bringing other people or
members of other organizations with you.

Additional Information
A Call to Action will be issued when the discharge petition is
able to be signed.
For a copy of the press release, or a list of all co-sponsors
and other information, visit the National Housing Trust Fund
(http://ga1.org/ct/A1qEh741U7TQ/NHTF/).

If you have any other questions, please contact Matt Achhammer
at (202) 662-1530 ext. 229, or email (mailto:matt@...)
him.

Please report all results of telephone calls and any other type
of correspondences to, or from, Congressional offices to Matt
Achammer as well.

About the National Housing Trust Fund
The National Housing Trust Fund would provide
communities-including those living with HIV/AIDS-with funds to
help build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million affordable
homes over the next 10 years, and would be based on the more
than 280 successful state and local housing trust funds. More
than 5,000 organizations and local leaders have endorsed a
National Housing Trust Fund, including the National AIDS Housing
Coalition and a number of AIDS service organizations.
_____________________________________________________________________

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