Unnamed House Democrat urges passage of HR 6644 to expand affordable housing and support community lenders
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Summary
An unnamed Democratic lawmaker, identifying themself as the lead Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, urged passage of HR 6644 (transcribed as the "Housing for the 20 first Century Act"), saying it would build and preserve affordable homes, aid CDFIs and MDIs, and address banking vulnerabilities exposed in 2023.
An unnamed Democratic lawmaker, who identified themself as the lead Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, urged passage of HR 6644 — referred to in the transcript as the "Housing for the 20 first Century Act" — saying the measure would expand affordable housing, support community lenders and address banking vulnerabilities raised in 2023.
"Our housing and homelessness crisis has reached a breaking point," the lawmaker said, adding that "on any given night, 800,000 people are experiencing homelessness in The United States Of America." The lawmaker also said rents have risen 47% nationwide and home prices 57%, and asserted that incomes have not kept pace with those increases.
The speaker said HR 6644 passed the committee with "overwhelming bipartisan support" and described provisions it would make to housing programs, local development authority and access to homeownership. The lawmaker said the package includes a dozen bipartisan provisions to help community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs), which the lawmaker framed as key to meeting local housing needs.
The transcript lists several constituent measures the lawmaker said are embedded in the package. Those mentions included: "my bill, HR 57," described as allowing cities to use Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds toward affordable housing construction; a Federal Housing Administration pilot to offer small-dollar mortgages (transcribed as HR 6774); and a provision (transcribed as HR 6773) to require cities to publish databases of unused land for developers. The lawmaker also said the package includes a provision (transcribed as HR 4544) to encourage formation of new banks, including CDFIs and MDIs.
The lawmaker told colleagues that while passage of HR 6644 would be a "critical first step," much more federal investment and legislative work would be required to solve the affordability and homelessness crisis. The speech closed with an appeal for colleagues to support the bill and a procedural remark reserving the speaker's remaining time.
No formal vote or amendment text appears in the provided transcript excerpt.
