Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Housing Challenges and Solutions
This week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing, Building Consensus to Address Housing Challenges, to address the lack of affordable housing and examine proposals that would make housing more affordable, safer and easier to access. Witnesses included Lou Tisler, executive director of the National NeighborWorks Association; Vanessa Brown Calder, director of opportunity and family policy studies at the Cato Institute, and Diane Yentel, president and ceo of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. During the hearing, members and witnesses discussed a wide array of proposals and bipartisan bills designed to ensure that the low-income and marginalized renters have access to stable, safe, affordable housing.
When asked to describe impediments to increasing the supply of housing, Ms. Calder stated that there are a variety of factors, but federal, state and local regulatory constraints are chiefly to blame. “Zoning and land use regulations continue to limit hosing supply by increasing developmental costs, creating uncertainty and producing delays. These regulations limit nearly every aspect of development—they subject housing development to lengthy review processes with many veto points…these regulations freeze preexisting development in place, making it difficult to build new homes or accommodate new residents.”
Discussing the need for providing further support to low-income families, especially families who want to relocate to areas that provide greater economic and educational opportunities, Sen. Van Hollen highlighted the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act. Recently introduced with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)., the proposed legislation seeks to improve outcomes for families with young children by creating 250,000 new housing mobility vouchers and providing counseling services.
When asked about other ways federal housing programs could be improved, Ms. Yentel cited the decline of landlord participation in the Housing Choice Voucher program and the need for Congress to pass the bipartisan Choice in Affordable Housing Act . “It’s a good example of ways that we can improve the housing choice voucher program to create more choice for tenants to be able to live in what are often called Communities of Opportunity, to streamline inspections and other requirements to the program to make the worth of a local voucher more reflective of rental costs.” NAHMA supports the Choice in Affordable housing act and will continue to monitor its progress through legislative process.
Sen. John Tester (D-MT) asked the witnesses if urban housing concerns and solutions mirror those felt in rural areas. Mr. Tisler stated that in terms of affordability, the concerns tend to be the same, but the solutions vary widely when density is included. “In terms of looking at the low-income housing tax credit properties in rural areas, it’s very hard in terms of being able to cover costs, were in an urban market, it’s a lot easier because of the density. So there is definitely differences, especially when looking at manufactured housing, and how manufactured housing can be the issue for many in rural communities.” Next week, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, Chaired by Sen. Tina Smith, will hold a hearing to discuss rural housing legislation. The hearing will be on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 2:45 P.M. (EST) and interested members can watch it live here.
To view the full committee hearing, click here.
Sen. Scott Releases Details on Housing Bill
Building on a recent framework he announced last week, Sen. Tim Scott released a discussion draft of the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act. The bill seeks to take a comprehensive view of federal housing policy and introduce reforms across the entire housing market. Specifically, the bill calls for greater oversight of federal housing programs by Congress, seeks to encourage responsible innovation and allow for new approaches to ensure that communities can meet the housing needs of their residents. NAHMA staff and industry colleagues participated in a recent discussion with Sen. Scott’s housing policy staff regarding the specific provisions of the bill. NAHMA will continue to monitor this bill and meet with the Sen. Scott staff soon.
To view a section-by-section summary of the ROAD Act, click here.
President Biden Signs Executive Order to Advance Environmental Justice
President Biden recently signed an executive order seeking to address and prevent the disproportionate and adverse environmental and health impacts on low-income communities, including the cumulative impacts of pollution and climate change. The order builds on President Biden’s broader commitment to address persistent environmental injustice through toxic pollution, underinvestment in infrastructure and critical services, and other disproportionate environmental harms that are often due to a legacy of racial discrimination, such as redlining. During the announcement, President Biden made clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all federal agencies and should be incorporated into their missions. The order directs agencies with conducting new assessments of their environmental justice efforts and developing, implementing, and periodically updating an environmental justice strategic plan. These environmental justice strategic plans and assessments will be submitted to the White House Council on Environmental Quality and made public on a regular basis, including through the Environmental Justice Scorecard, a new government-wide assessment of federal agencies’ efforts to advance environmental justice. The order also directs agencies to actively facilitate wider and more meaningful public participation, to identify and address gaps in science, data, and research related to environmental justice and to make information on environmental and health concerns more publicly accessible to communities.
To read view the White House press release, click here.