NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) —Not everyone has a home to turn to at night, heat to turn on, or a bed to lie in.
The issue of homelessness has forever been a problem nationwide.
But for a state like North Dakota, some say we’re struggling to have help available in the community.
KX News had the chance to sit down with one of our U.S senators to see if there is a plan of action, on the federal side, to deal with this.

Senator Kevin Cramer says he is working with Democratic Senator Chris Coons, of Delaware, towards legislation to try to incentivize more entrepreneurs and landlords to go into federal housing programs.

“To build more federal housing, low-income housing, there’s a there’s a sort of a voucher program in Section 8 housing, and the voucher program gives vouchers for rent to people below the poverty level or people who need housing. What it doesn’t do, it doesn’t incentivize landlords because there’s a lot of bureaucracy associated with federal housing and so in a growing large economy where people can afford homes or can afford nicer apartments, there’s a tendency for builders and developers to stay out of that space,” said Sen. Cramer.
He says their bill takes the program that encourages people to rent, to motivate people who can provide property for them to rent.
“We’ve had a hearing on it in the banking committee. I’m on the banking committee and we hope to be able to push that through and get some more federal assets if you will, really private assets with federal incentives, tax incentives for more of an inventory of housing,” said Sen. Cramer.
Senator Cramer says there are two ways the problem of homelessness can be attacked.
“One is to provide more homes, but the other one is to provide more economic opportunities so fewer people will be homeless and therein lies a pretty big rub with our current economic situation in the United States and the policies of the current administration that have only separated the low economic spectrum from the high economic spectrum in significant ways,” says Sen. Cramer.

He adds that more job opportunities need to be provided, generating more income opportunities, but then also incentivize the supply side of the housing problem for people.