Date: February 24, 2026
To: Committee Chair Representative Gallick, and members of the House Economic Development Committee
From: Erica Robbins, Affordable Housing Policy Manager, Empower Missouri
Re: Support for HB 1716
Founded in 1901, Empower Missouri is the largest anti-poverty advocacy organization in the state and for 125 years, we have worked diligently to create a healthy state we are proud to call home. As part of our work, we collaborate with a statewide Affordable Housing Coalition composed of individuals and organizations who work diligently each day to ensure every Missourian has access to safe, affordable, stable housing. On behalf of our staff, board, and coalition members, we ask you to support and vote yes on HB 1716, a Department of Economic Development grant program that will foster and support the development of workforce housing in rural communities.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, rural communities across the United States face unique challenges when dealing with affordable housing. Because large-scale development does not usually occur in rural communities, construction costs are often higher in these areas compared to their urban counterparts. Real estate prices continue to soar above what’s reasonable, with the average monthly rural rent increasing by 31.2% between 2020 and 2023, alongside the average monthly income of rural renting households rising by only 5.5%.
Rural communities are often overlooked and most likely to face financial impacts due to these rising housing costs. A decreasing supply of affordable housing across Missouri has led to many Missourians feeling an ever impact of rising rental prices, oftentimes costing them more than one-third of their monthly salaries. In Missouri, an employee working at minimum wage would have to work 52 hours each week just to afford a modest 1 bedroom rental home at Fair Market Rent.
Nationwide, the annual Point-In-Time count3 reported that:
- more than 771,480 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024
- 7,312 of those individuals were our Missouri neighbors
- and 513 were Veterans
This should not be the case in one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.
A lack of affordable housing paired with household incomes that haven’t kept up with current inflation rates are the primary causes of increased poverty and this combination paired with our nation’s housing crisis is leading to more and more of our loved ones and neighbors experiencing homelessness.
This decline in the availability of affordable housing across our state is also affecting our workforce development. Prospective employers feel the impact of inadequate housing in their communities, avoiding regions with a lack of affordable housing due to the struggle to attract skilled workers to those areas. Lack of funding in the housing stock in rural communities also leaves them with a higher amount of substandard housing, which not only leads to safety concerns, also impacting employers’ ability to entice prospective employees. These conditions disrupt business operations and increase recruitment costs, making it difficult to promote individual career progress and community economic stability, and hindering sustained growth of local businesses and economies.
As housing costs increase, and families are spending more and more of their monthly incomes on rent, they are less likely to have savings for other basic necessities like groceries, medical bills, gas and childcare. Studies show that 68% of renter households were saving less at the time of the survey than they were 12 months earlier, with an additional 73% of renters saying they save less than $500 a month due to their housing costs.6 Local businesses also lose out as economic growth stalls, leading to decreased spending in these communities and halting their development.
When we invest in housing for rural working class households, we are strengthening Missouri’s rural communities as a whole, making them more attractive to new residents considering relocation and strengthening their local economies. Reports show that no directly-financed or state-funded rental housing has been developed in recent years and that existing properties are in need of rehabilitation. However, there is hope! As seen in states like Iowa and Nebraska, successful initiatives similar to HB 1716 not only lead to local economic growth, but also a statewide retention in talent, future workforce development, and overall community well-being.7
Investing in affordable housing is a common-sense initiative that benefits all Missourians from our newly born children to our gracefully aging grandparents, our neighbors, our Veterans and our friends. By supporting HB 1716, you are supporting a healthy state, with healthy housing that meets the needs of our modern working families. The approval of this bill will ensure that rural communities begin to see their deserved return on investments and the economic growth necessary to enrich the lives of all citizens who call rural Missouri home. Workforce housing is an investment in working class households and an investment in our communities. We ask that you vote yes on HB 1716 to help make our great Show-Me State the strongest it can be.icipalities. We appreciate Representative Owen introducing this bill and encourage you to vote yes on HB 2898.
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