Squad member Jamaal Bowman demands rents are capped to fight 'plantation capitalism' as he helps AOC announce her Green New Deal for housing he calls a 'form of reparations'

Progressives led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are re-launching a 'Green New Deal' for public housing to address 'environmental injustices' in low-income housing. 

The proposal would invest up to $234 billion over 10 years in public housing and repeal the Faircloth Amendment.

The Faircloth Amendment prevents any net increase in public housing units beyond 1999 levels - 1.8 million. 

The proposal 'would bring public housing down to zero carbon emissions while creating 280,000 jobs. In the era of government neglected demolition and privatization of our public housing stocks,' according to Ocasio-Cortez. 

'Broken policy is relying solely on the market and solely on billionaires in order to produce and extort everyday people of every dime that they have in charging the highest rent,' the congresswoman added in a news conference Thursday. 'A different world is not only possible, a different world is arriving today.' 

Progressives led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are re-launching a 'Green New Deal' for public housing to address 'environmental injustices' in low-income housing

'We're gonna stand up and transform our energy system and create sustainable housing not based on fossil fuel,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

'Housing is a human right. The rent is too damn high, y'all,' said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who grew up in public housing in New York City. 

'It is plantation capitalism, to have someone paying 40, 50, 60 percent of their salary towards rent,' said Bowman. 'That is plantation capitalism.'

'Rent should be capped at 20 percent of [salary],' he then said. 'The Green New Deal for public housing is a form of reparations for marginalized communities.' 

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., blamed investors for snatching up home inventory  

'You know who's buying up all the homes in suburban neighborhoods? Hedge funds, yeah, they're not living there.' 

Democrats have already launched an effort to ban hedge funds from buying homes. 

'Housing is a human right. The rent is too damn high, y'all,' said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who grew up in public housing in New York City

A recent report from the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank, found some 574,000 single family homes nationwide were owned by large institutional investors that own at least 100 properties as of June 2022.

But another group, the National Rental Home Council, says the numbers need more context. They note that of the 145 million housing units nationwide, such investors only own 0.4 percent. 

'We're gonna stand up and transform our energy system and create sustainable housing not based on fossil fuel,' said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. 'We all going to provide decent quality affordable housing for millions of Americans. And at the same time, we're going to create good-paying, union jobs.'

The bill's latest version allocates more money to address a public housing backlog and for clean energy home improvements.

The bill does not address skyrocketing housing costs for those that do not qualify for public housing - or those that aspire to own their own homes. It will go down in almost-certain defeat in any sort of divided Congress. 

But the progressives hope to move the Overton window - at least with what is accepted within their own party. 

'I want to send this message very clearly, not just to all of Congress, but including the leadership of the Democratic Party,' said Ocasio-Cortez. 'There's a lot of different things to address, social housing mortgages, interest rates, but any true housing policy must include a commitment to public housing point blank, period.'