Kamala Harris Proposes $ 100 Billion Black Property Plan

Kamala Harris, calling on the country to "address the racial wealth gap," Saturday proposed a $ 100 billion federal program to help blacks buy a home.

The California senator said the plan, which would provide up to $ 25,000 in assistance to tenants or residents in communities traditionally lined up in red, would help about 4 million people.

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The plan comes as Harris goes to the Democratic primary polls following a debate last week in which she reprimanded former Vice President Joe Biden for his past opposition to buses and associations with senators. segregationist. The controversy has continued in recent days, with Biden defending his record.

Black voters are a critical constituency in the Democratic primary, especially in the south.

Harris, at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, said his program "would put the property at the fingertips" of millions of families.

"A typical black family only has $ 10 for every $ 100 owned by a white family," she said. "We must rectify what is wrong and, after generations of discrimination, give black families a real boost to become homeowners, one of the most powerful drivers of our country's wealth.

Harris's housing program would be in the form of grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to families with incomes of up to $ 100,000 or $ 125,000 in high-cost areas.

In the United States, Democrats concerned about incomes and racial inequalities have long underlined the enduring effects of the red line – and persistent gaps between homeownership rates in black and white, a traditional way of creating of wealth.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a competitor in the 2020 program, had previously offered to pay installment grants to first-time homebuyers in areas formerly in the red line, separate and low-income.

On Saturday, Harris also committed to strengthening HUD's fair housing program, strengthening anti-discrimination lending laws, and amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require credit ratings to include rent, mortgage, and other payments. telephone and utilities.