[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6167165,"mediaKeyId","5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2","parentId",5412227,"title","Witnesses urge Congress to preserve and fund HOME as draft reforms are debated","audioSeconds",1246,"startMs",1335000,"endMs",2581000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2&start=1335&end=2581","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2/thumbnail_1335000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6167165/Witnesses-urge-Congress-to-preserve-and-fund-HOME-as-draft-reforms-are-debated","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6167165-fe945be62a409f67051263d4fc495718/orig.mp4?Expires=1770546015&Signature=Dlc1KBysB3JYdlqrE6R8WDvjby2fCnY4E0jiBTRaCKu-nXchz9NxNSJHCQUKHoRF1EG0X-SJG~FzkqOSJaMDWMzhgFcuH6eeDAN0TmpYb6usEQxXYopNSyAPWAUMB2-exMqWqIVUDbuZPFlTFBbjTddj~~0GM3UNXZYMaUafrLvfUNu0WcIVKN~ehTMi7FH86qYy~gB32HaOWCs~Xzk2r2PIrBwJWB0lBK-cgYcHX-Vca~r5yHSTjOETDyxrSYuTq4usStxjs4N1n9W2-40WMtmDF1Y4QFBLqrH26LXwMF0n3KH18yRpX33XGmk6bEbs1qSa9NWAIw5T2FsDHo3UcA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. House Committee on Financial Services","date","2025-07-17T07:49:33Z","article","Witnesses and members used the subcommittee hearing to press Congress to preserve and adequately fund the HOME Investment Partnerships Program while pursuing statutory reforms to improve efficiency.

Ranking Member Cleaver told the committee HOME is HUD's largest block grant dedicated exclusively to affordable housing and said \"the program is often used with the low income tax credits\" to leverage private investment. Multiple witnesses warned that appropriations proposals that would reduce or eliminate HOME funds would be “devastating” to affordable-housing production.

Allison George provided state-level data: she said Colorado received over $16,000,000 in HOME funding in fiscal year 25 (about $5,000,000 to the state and $11,000,000 to local governments). George told members that since 1993 Colorado has assisted roughly 29,000 households and invested roughly $280,000,000 of HOME funds in more than 500 projects across 60+ municipalities.

Eric Oberdorfer and other witnesses said HOME leverages private investment and catalyzes deals that would otherwise be infeasible. Mercy Housing cited specific projects—Timber Creek Apartments in Omaha, Neb., where a $700,000 HOME award was used to recapitalize and renovate 180 homes, and a Savannah, Ga., redevelopment that produced 484 modern homes—illustrating HOME’s role as gap financing in multifunder deals.

Committee members emphasized that modernization should not be pursued by cutting annual funding. Representatives from high-cost states and members representing rural districts urged increases or steady appropriations so reauthorization and regulatory fixes can expand housing supply without losing the program’s reach.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","HOME 2.0: Modern Solutions to the Housing Shortage (EventID=118476)","oneSentenceSummary","Stakeholders warned that proposed appropriations cuts or elimination of the HOME program would severely reduce affordable housing production and urged Congress to fund modernization efforts rather than defund the program.","taxTitle","Financial Services: House Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1981,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6167168,"Stakeholders ask Congress to raise Davis-Bacon trigger and ease Build America, Buy America rules for HOME projects",1380,1883000,3263000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2&start=1883&end=3263","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2/thumbnail_1883000.jpg","/articles/6167168/Stakeholders-ask-Congress-to-raise-Davis-Bacon-trigger-and-ease-Build-America-Buy-America-rules-for-HOME-projects","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6167168-f7454477c7bd470ed865f64e8ec3edaf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770546015&Signature=MfFcK87mKSTUQ76lVZ76vAdl-MRm-80rR1Ycd~AaTLcDYcdAtwWw~2lCYZp-i6ArBPKmU9ZpcvFXVnLngXup3kB53IkGHRIwRuZCPQbfcE3PEr4uvec6O7hcmZhVl3XWaW43f4QpCipgJdwLeLFU-36dLH-v7E12SkSLUyRDsuzg2E7q8YkemiElxX8boRIsQn0vl8nfVtDWVaqcmrtE93qIT-sJLjNE2a4JYx9li~cZbDIczl4Ds0tfQxlCQ2Lv85jXuHb70~28DPWMM2DRkWEPJ7QXvMjmo5YsLWQtO6--eroWHDWJAinCQRtoRRDHFs7jebLu7Sz5heuis5ewtQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Witnesses before the House subcommittee urged statutory changes to prevailing-wage and domestic-content rules that they said increasingly burden small projects that rely on HOME gap financing.

Multiple witnesses recommended raising the Davis-Bacon trigger from the existing 12-unit or low-dollar threshold to a 50-unit trigger so that many small and rural projects would not automatically be subject to prevailing-wage paperwork and compliance. Eric Oberdorfer of NARO said increasing the unit threshold to 50 \"will help especially smaller communities\" and recommended also raising the construction-contract threshold to $250,000 adjusted annually for inflation.

Habitat for Humanity's Ellen Woodward Potts and Mercy Housing's Tiffany Bohe said they support prevailing wages but warned the administrative burden and documentation associated with Davis-Bacon can put small contractors and small-business electricians and plumbers at a disadvantage. Potts noted many local contractors are sole proprietors or very small firms that struggle with heavy compliance paperwork.

On Build America, Buy America (BABA), witnesses said the domestic-content rules are well intentioned but argued the construction-materials supply chain has limited capacity and the rules can add cost and delay; NARO recommended exempting HOME-funded projects and some witnesses asked for clearer guidance and transitional rules so projects can proceed while domestic supply scales up. Representative Garcia pushed back strongly on allowing Buy America exemptions, saying she opposes weakening domestic procurement standards. Witnesses and members emphasized these proposals are to reduce administrative cost and delay rather than to eliminate worker protections or quality standards.

Committee members and witnesses also discussed an alternative approach of increasing dollar thresholds (e.g., $250,000 contracts) rather than changing unit-based triggers, to reduce the number of small projects subject to Davis-Bacon paperwork.","Witnesses and committee members discussed raising the Davis-Bacon threshold (witnesses recommended 50 units or a $250,000 construction-contract threshold) and easing Build America, Buy America compliance for HOME-funded developments to lower costs and expand the pool of contractors.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6167171,"Witnesses tell House subcommittee environmental reviews add months and millions to HOME projects",3127,1053000,4180000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2&start=1053&end=4180","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2/thumbnail_1053000.jpg","/articles/6167171/Witnesses-tell-House-subcommittee-environmental-reviews-add-months-and-millions-to-HOME-projects","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6167171-ff8b8d92d61778728754a83db0e39ce4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770546015&Signature=ZyQxIuTtuGEk~nZngs7Xfh6BsMdeAtA6fTa--EzkwfHpwCyDDGE2v-RUyxIvO2p8dPlR7mfdE2Wxa6eK~6Oce7VGmg-IpTjB29DrO2~UiqUlzLYXQ5KewxJYNWIPjaMECwKC5xa18utq~lSf~ZsmPixqfAu44xgvjyOTc7b60VXe1hGzn1GrTBzB96wEbMioiLUneIBpZBhk4FImhNtyOmM2Ive7wuiV2TbfVIi4meW9MO1NWIeJCAfgo12SJohJgRFR~zEHQxXNjOra3qrxv-CUqVfdOA8lqBQ8WuUmu7k0Cd-a9y819kulko40mz2K3M2s-~D4xpp2Pxl5QyOzsg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Multiple witnesses told the House Financial Services subcommittee that environmental review requirements tied to HOME awards can add substantial time and cost to housing projects, and they urged legislative fixes to avoid duplication without removing environmental protections.

Allison George, director of the Colorado Division of Housing and CASDA board president, said the uncertainty over how many environmental reviews a project might trigger “causes delays” and advocated limiting environmental review to one per project. Eric Oberdorfer of NARO agreed, saying duplicative reviews “increase both time and cost” and urged mechanisms to ensure only a single environmental review is required no matter how many funding sources are layered.

Ellen Woodward Potts of Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa gave on-the-ground examples: she said Habitat attempted to acquire 33 lots for redevelopment after a 2011 tornado and that the environmental review process delayed reconstruction for nearly three years; she also described a separate home-repair example in which an elderly couple could not replace an HVAC unit until an environmental review was completed. Potts told the committee the goal is not to eliminate environmental reviews but to reduce unnecessary delays.

Tiffany Bohe of Mercy Housing California said HOME-triggered reviews are often duplicative with reviews already completed for other funding sources and recommended aligning environmental review requirements so HOME does not automatically trigger a separate NEPA process when another valid review exists.

Witnesses and members suggested reforms in the draft legislation that would (1) shorten review timelines, (2) allow reuse of environmental reviews completed for the same project, and (3) provide limited categorical exclusions for small new-construction projects (examples cited: categorical exclusions for new construction up to 20 units and exemptions for home repair projects), while maintaining core environmental safeguards.

Committee members pressed for specifics and emphasized they do not seek to eliminate environmental protections; rather, they sought clarity and reduced duplication so projects can proceed more quickly.","State and nonprofit witnesses cited duplicative NEPA reviews and local examples where environmental review requirements delayed housing projects by years and increased costs, and they proposed limiting reviews to one per project or categorical exclusions for small projects.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6167173,"House subcommittee hears bipartisan case to modernize HUD HOME program as funding faces cuts",6074,866000,6940000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2&start=866&end=6940","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5412227-9d4ad5b7a081fb1d69da0464624768e2/thumbnail_866000.jpg","/articles/6167173/House-subcommittee-hears-bipartisan-case-to-modernize-HUD-HOME-program-as-funding-faces-cuts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6167173-e15461ff76948a7c3d97da1c0988b8b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770546015&Signature=nQV9yNp-Q1cFvtU39tVHJegdlrYTewD75DvuMePdPtDWvlws0JRCc6zgo5M0kFSYQYGSfDksDgnyBCgSu9MwfLSxTlPb676Y1nrhLdNZFjRDHdZuiUeOs7hqRaUhRTqA1HjZluA~2cfHqtEQmV1nebQlEcL4LwmGcjMBaYaiOkVBqqRcTg-rBvC8ElJ4ctTXzFEr4ootHrdFZr0ZS9WeO8b9Cml13M-K3rY4RG3SLM0oQ1vCNm9-NNjy-d0khUc56AtzkE2xrQh78S~fD~IobTQy5K0GCuBg2IazJUVqCiTnbGQx-fTcxroqo~biUAA5ndwMtg-IC-oPr-O9aQjbRQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance members convened a hearing to review a discussion draft titled the Home Reform Act and hear testimony on modernizing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOME Investment Partnerships Program. Chairman Flood opened the hearing and said the panel would focus on “modern solutions to the housing shortage,” and Ranking Member Cleaver emphasized bipartisan work to update a program last authorized in 1992.

The HOME program provides block-grant gap financing used with other tools such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to build and rehabilitate affordable housing. Witnesses representing state housing agencies, public housing authorities, Habitat affiliates and nonprofit developers urged streamlining rules that they said delay projects and add cost while preserving the program’s flexibility and accountability.

Allison George, director of the Colorado Division of Housing and board president of the Council of State Community Development Agencies (CASDA), described HOME as “often the first funding source in and the last piece that keeps a project together,” and gave Harvest Hill in Broomfield, Colo., as an example of a project using a $2,600,000 HOME award to support 152 affordable homes for households earning roughly 30–70% of area median income (about $42,000 to $94,000 for a four-person household in Broomfield).

Eric Oberdorfer, director of policy and legislative affairs at the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NARO), said HOME has produced or preserved roughly 1,400,000 homes since the program began and supported millions of jobs and local economic activity, and recommended legislative changes to reduce delays and broaden eligible activities. Ellen Woodward Potts, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa (testifying on behalf of Habitat for Humanity International), and Tiffany Bohe, president of Mercy Housing California, gave on-the-ground examples of how HOME funds are used for homeownership, rental preservation and redevelopment.

Members and witnesses repeatedly flagged four statutory and regulatory requirements that they said raise costs and slow production: duplicative environmental reviews, Build America, Buy America requirements, Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage rules and Section 3 requirements. The draft legislation attached to the hearing proposes targeted changes to those rules and to program mechanics such as the 24-month commitment deadline and administrative cap.

Ranking Member Cleaver and multiple witnesses urged Congress to reauthorize and adequately fund HOME, warning that appropriations proposals that would reduce or eliminate the program would “significantly decrease our country's ability to construct affordable housing.” Cleaver said the committee had solicited more than 140 stakeholder letters and conducted stakeholder meetings to craft bipartisan proposals.

The hearing record includes written statements and examples of HOME projects and financing at the state and national levels; witnesses were asked to submit any further written responses by 08/21/2025. The subcommittee reserved five legislative days for members to submit extraneous materials for the record.","Witnesses and subcommittee leaders urged reauthorization and modernization of HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program, pointing to administrative burdens that slow projects and warning that proposed federal cuts would undercut affordable housing production.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Witnesses urge Congress to preserve and fund HOME as draft reforms are debated

Stakeholders ask Congress to raise Davis-Bacon trigger and ease Build America, Buy America rules for HOME projects

Witnesses tell House subcommittee environmental reviews add months and millions to HOME projects

House subcommittee hears bipartisan case to modernize HUD HOME program as funding faces cuts