WASHINGTON, D.C. – 2021 has been a year of great progress for the HomesRenewed movement, despite the constraints of covid-19. In fact, the tragic truth about unsafe conditions in senior congregate housing, highlighted by the pandemic, combined with increased use of telehealth, has propelled us forward.

Foremost is the growing interest on Capitol Hill. We’ve hired top-notch Washington insiders, The Sheridan Group, to map our strategy and manage our campaign. As a result, Susan Kimmel, vice president, HomesRenewed Resource Center, Washington, D.C and I have had more than a dozen meetings with Congressional staffers in the past few weeks.

As we’ve laid out in an extensive white paper our Congressional efforts focus on developing tax policy to allow the use of 401k/IRA-type, pre-tax retirement savings to pay for home modifications without taxes or penalties. This would benefit a large part of the population through market-based approaches that encourage the use of your own money, reduce government healthcare spending, and empower older Americans and their families.

We are getting positive results from both sides of the aisle, and prospects look good for getting our recommendations into legislation this year. It is time for all of us to take action now. During the next few months, we will enter the next phases of our campaign, which will include developing legislative language and grassroots outreach to key legislators as the specifics of the new policies are decided. Visit our website for more information about how you can help.

Louis Tenenbaum is president of the HomesRenewed Resource Center, Washington, D.C.