Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's public housing stock that would cost up to $172 billion.
The duo has dubbed the legislation the “ Green New Deal for Public Housing Act” and unveiled the proposal on Monday. The plan by the two self-described socialists seeks to transition the public housing system “as swiftly and seamlessly as possible” to zero-carbon communities that produce on-site renewable energy, according to a news release about the proposal.
They said the $172 billion would be invested over a period of 10 years and would affect nearly 2 million people living in some 950,000 public housing homes. The sponsors claim that the legislation would reduce the cost of water bills among public housing residents by 30% and would slash energy bills by up to 70% per year. It also would create about 240,000 union jobs, according to Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez.