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Witness tells Senate committee opportunity zones have driven substantial investment into low‑income communities
Summary
A witness identified as Dr. Byron told the committee that opportunity zones have spurred nearly $100 billion in investment and now account for about 20% of recent market‑rate apartment development, and urged more research and expansion to address housing affordability.
Senator Tim Scott asked Dr. Byron about the role of opportunity zones in addressing housing challenges, and Dr. Byron said available evidence indicates the program has attracted substantial private investment into lower‑income areas.
"President Trump is indeed a strong supporter of opportunity zones and for good reason," Dr. Byron said. "The best available studies to date indicate they've spurred a significant investment into less privileged areas, fast approaching $100,000,000,000 and reached a larger share of the nation's low income communities than any comparable program over such a short period of time." He added that opportunity zones now account for 20% of market‑rate apartment unit developments in recent years, up from about 8% before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Dr. Byron said more research and expanded use of opportunity zones could help address the housing affordability crisis, though he did not propose specific legislative language during the exchange. The segment was a witness response during questioning; no committee votes or directives followed this portion of the hearing.
Provenance: Transcript excerpts include Senator Scott's question and Dr. Byron's reply (segments beginning at 99.41s through 155.54s).
