the Nation has not made adequate progress toward the goal of national housing policy, as set out in the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1441 et seq.] and reaffirmed in the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, which would provide decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable living environments for all Americans;

the supply of affordable rental housing is diminishing;

the Tax Reform Act of 1986 removed major tax incentives for the production of affordable rental housing;

the living environments of an increasing number of Americans have deteriorated over the past several years as a result of reductions in Federal assistance to low-income and moderate-income families;

many Americans face the possibility of homelessness unless Federal, State, and local governments work together with the private sector to develop and rehabilitate the housing stock of the Nation to provide decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for very low-income and low-income families;