Contact B'nai B'rith

1120 20th Street NW, Suite 300N Washington, D.C. 20036

info@bnaibrith.org

202-857-6600

(Washington, D.C., May 18, 2020)—​B’nai B’rith International is encouraged by the House of Representatives’ passage of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.  While we are still analyzing this legislation, we believe this bill could bring badly needed relief to Section 202 affordable housing for seniors.
 
As the largest national Jewish sponsor of low-income, nonsectarian housing for seniors in the United States, B’nai B’rith hears directly from our sponsored buildings on the challenges brought on by this crisis.  We hope that additional funding will be used for increasing staffing, rental assistance, personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and expanded WiFi to bolster telemedicine as a viable option for residents. Lastly, we are pleased by the additional $300 million dollars appropriated for service coordination. Service coordinators, who are an integral cog to Section 202 communities, by connecting older Americans with critical services in the community. We believe this additional funding could expand service coordination access and consequently allow Section 202 properties to better meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
We strongly urge the Senate to reach a bipartisan compromise with the House of Representatives on stimulus legislation. Legislation like the HEROES Act is another important step to ensure that affordable senior housing communities throughout our country are being protected the best they can, from this terrible crisis.