Senate Bill 1668

Senate Bill 1668 supports the homeowners, equal housing for all and renters in the pursuit to rebuild lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

All Mississippians should contact their senators and make sure Mississippi is included in Senate Bill 1668.

To contact Senator Lott click here.

To contact Senator Cochran click here.

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Senator Shelby is making sure Alabama is included. To learn more click here.

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9 Reasons why you should support S. 1668

1. This Bill affects more than New Orleans. It includes MS, TX, LA & AL

2. The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act has the support of over 80 national, regional and local organizations, including the ACLU Mississippi, the Gulf Coast Fair Housing Center, the Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities of Mississippi, and the MS Interfaith Disaster Task Force.

Creates Economic Recovery and Housing Solutions for Everyone:

3. We need affordable housing on the coast: Everyone is affected. All income levels all kinds of homes.

4. S. 1668 is not just about public housing. This bill will provide second mortgages, speed local redevelopment of rundown properties, and bring more jobs, thereby encouraging expanded homeownership.

5. Opposing bill hurts families by denying city money to help taxpayers.

Addresses Housing & Poverty in the Gulf Coast:

6. Very-low-income individuals need help. Not helping them=ignoring the problem.

7. S.1668 opponents and supporters agree that new housing solutions are needed in the post-Katrina Gulf Coast. Current plans (or lack thereof, in many places) recreate the "concentrated poverty" opponents of S. 1668 allegedly deplore, this time in FEMA trailers, and in overcrowded, substandard housing that families and municipalities lack the resources to repair. Almost 100,000 families are still displaced and dependent on "temporary housing assistance from FEMA... [including over] 50,000 families in FEMA trailers...known to contain toxic levels of formaldehyde."

8. S. 1668 offers housing choice to displaced families in their former and current homes. It a) allows for immediate re-occupation of a small number of units to reduce existing need, b) empowers developers and residents to work together to come up with alternative, expanded and complementary solutions to past developments-- a model of collaboration that has been tested and proven around the country -- and c) enables displaced, low-income families to move on with their lives in their new communities, without "threat of losing housing assistance that makes their new homes affordable."

Holds the Federal Government to their promises:

9. The companion House bill (HR 1227) had the full, bi-partisan support of Mississippi and Louisiana. We commend Senator Landrieu and her colleagues who support S. 1668 for their efforts to deliver on long overdue federal commitments to the Gulf Coast.

For more information:

Equity and Inclusion Campaign

Senator Trent Lott

Washington, D.C. Office

487 Russell Senate Office Bdg

Washington, DC 20510

Main: (202) 224-6253

Fax: (202) 224-2262

Pascagoula Office

3118 Pascagoula St Suite A

Pascagoula, MS 39567

Main: (228) 762-5400

Fax: (228) 762-0137

Jackson Office

245 East Capitol St Suite 226

Jackson, MS 39201

Main: (601) 965-4644

Fax: (601)965-4007

Oxford Office

911 Jackson Ave Suite 127

Oxford, MS 38655

Main: (662) 234-3774

Fax: (662) 234-1744

Gulfport Office

2012 15th St Suite 451

Gulfport, MS 39501

Main: (228) 863-1988

Senator Thad Cochran

Washington Office

113 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510-2402

202-224-5054

Jackson Office

188 East Capitol St. Suite 614

Jackson, Mississippi 39201

601-965-4459

Oxford Office

911 East Jackson AveSuite 249

Oxford, Mississippi 38655

662-236-1018

Gulf Coast Office

14094 Customs Blvd Suite 201

Gulfport, Mississippi 39503

228-867-9710