Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Ranking Member US House of Representatives The Financial Services Committee this week reintroduced three pieces of proposed legislation to boost affordable housing investment, expand the Housing Choice Voucher program and provide billions of dollars in aid for first-generation, first-generation homebuyers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Together, these bills represent the largest and most comprehensive investment in affordable housing in American history and come at a time when our nation’s housing and homelessness crisis is at its worst,” Rep. Waters’ office said in a statement. has arrived.” “Today, US home prices are up nearly 40% since 2020, more than 582,500 people are without a home, and home ownership has reached its lowest level on record for the first time.”
According to one announcement, if passed, the “Housing Crisis Response Act of 2023” would provide more than $150 billion in affordable housing investment, representing “the largest investment in affordable housing in our nation’s history.”
Waters’ office estimates the associated funds will create 1.4 million affordable and accessible homes, provide rental assistance for 300,000 homes, and create “the first national investment in home ownership for first-time, first-generation homebuyers.”
The “Ending Homelessness Act 2023” would convert the Housing Choice Voucher program into a federal entitlement, expanding access to the program. The bill would also ban housing discrimination based on source of income and veteran status.
And, the “Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2023” will, for the first time ever, provide $100 billion in assistance to first-generation homebuyers to purchase their first home. Waters’ office argues that this would address the nation’s racial and homeownership gap.
“This will include assistance with down payments, closing costs and to help lower mortgage interest rates,” Waters’ office said.
All bills have the same group of legislative cosponsors in the House, who are all Democrats. The legislation was previously passed by the House in the previous Congress as part of the Biden administration’s broader “Build Back Better” agenda. However, it ultimately failed in the Senate.
The bills do not appear to have any Republican support at this time. While they lack a majority in the House, Republicans control the House and determine the pieces of legislation that are ultimately brought up for debate and voting.
