Senate Banking Committee Hearing on the State of Housing
On Tuesday, March 16th, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a virtual hearing titled “Home = Life: The State of Housing in America”. The hearing covered a wide variety of housing topics, including affordable housing, housing finance, and access to homeownership. Lawmakers are grappling with housing policy as the country faces an uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with many essential workers laid off and unable to afford housing. Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sherrod Brown stated during his opening remarks that about 1 in 4 renters — or 11 million — were paying more than half their income in rent before the pandemic hit, and Black homeownership stands as low as it was when housing discrimination was still legal in the 1970s.
Witnesses included Dr. Chris Herbert from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, who explained how the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can work together to address major housing issues. Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) outlined the housing needs of extremely low-income households. She urged the committee to support the “Public Housing Emergency Response Act,” which would authorize $70 billion for the public housing capital needs backlog. Members of the committee also heard support for expanding rental assistance to make it universally available to all needy households; the need to expand the national Housing Trust Fund; the need to increase preservation and the construction of new public housing; and for the creation of a permanent emergency rental assistance program. Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending, testified that more down payment assistance for low-income and first-generation homebuyers could also help close the gap in homeownership rates.
To view the full Senate committee hearing on the State of Housing in America, click here.
Rural Housing Preservation Bill Introduced
Representative Cynthia Axne (D-IA) has recently reintroduced legislation that would help ensure individuals in rural communities have access to affordable housing by preserving existing housing options for families. Known as the Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2021 (H.R. 1728), this bill would provide rental assistance to low-income tenants in certain multifamily rural housing projects financed by the USDA-RHS and would require USDA to develop and implement a plan for preserving the affordability of rural rental housing.
Provisions in the bill include a permanent authorization for the Rural Development Voucher and the Multifamily Housing Preservation and Revitalization Demonstration (MPR) programs and it would provide $1 billion in funding for the MPR program. Additionally, the bill includes the authority to extend vouchers to residents of properties with maturing mortgages to restructure maturing mortgages and extend their terms, the decoupling of rental assistance from the Section 515 and 514/516 programs, and requires Rural Development to submit a formal preservation plan to Congress and create an advisory committee to assist the preservation of RD Section 515 and 514/516 rental housing. While this bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House, it was never taken up for debate by the Senate. The Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2021 has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee for further consideration.
To view the press release regarding the reintroduction of H.R. 1728, the Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2021, click here.
Senator Cantwell and Treasury Deputy Secretary Adeyemo Discuss Housing Credit During Nomination Hearing
During the recent Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing for Wally Adeyemo, President Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Committee, questioned Mr. Adeyemo about how he would deliver on Biden administration promises regarding affordable housing and transportation infrastructure. President Biden has proposed expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit with a $10 billion investment to increase housing supply and make the credit more efficient. Senator Cantwell highlighted her legislation, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, noting that it supports the Biden Administration’s affordable housing agenda. In response, Mr. Adeyemo stated that, “this is a critical issue for us in terms of ensuring we meet the affordable housing needs in this country. That tax credit has been successful, and we should make sure we are using it in a way that is effective moving forward.”
To view the full Senate Finance Committee Nomination Hearing, click here.
To view Senator Cantwell’s Press Release on the Nomination Hearing, click here.