French Hill: bill aims to cut building costs, increase housing supply and hold HUD to account

Congressman French Hill said a bill discussed at a House Committee on Financial Services markup — referred to in the hearing as the "Housing for 20 First Century Act" — is designed to reduce the regulatory costs of building and to spur more varied, higher-density housing across U.S. cities and rural areas.

Hill told questioners that the legislation focuses on lowering local development fees and zoning-related costs, which he said account for a substantial share of what homebuyers ultimately pay. "If you wanna bring down the cost of the mortgage or the cost of property and casualty insurance, you need to confront inflation," he said, adding that the bill aims to "lower the cost to manage housing, lower the cost to build housing" to increase supply and thereby reduce prices.

The lawmaker also criticized the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), saying it has failed in overseeing public housing and holding private landlords and local housing authorities accountable. "Hold HUD accountable on what I think is a deplorable job that they've done over the past decade," Hill said, calling out poor conditions for the neediest residents.

On related policy levers, Hill tied housing affordability to broader macroeconomic forces. He described inflation as "the biggest tax on the American people" and attributed recent high price levels to pandemic-era fiscal and monetary policy, saying inflation has started to ease in some markets. He urged measures such as increased permitting on federal lands, steps to lower long-term energy costs and more competition in banking to make financing cheaper for builders and buyers.

Hill also flagged policy changes to help specific populations: he said the markup includes provisions to improve rural housing opportunities and to make it easier for veterans to obtain Veterans Affairs-backed loans. He emphasized zoning reform and regulatory relief as the central mechanisms to expand supply rather than direct reductions in operating expenses such as utilities or insurance.

The hearing record shows Hill citing specific figures in his argument, including his statement that roughly "80% of the cost that goes into a house are local zoning, local code decisions, local development fees," and asserting that federal borrowing choices during the pandemic contributed to a sharp rise in prices. He also cited a $6,000,000,000,000 figure when criticizing pandemic-era federal spending.

The committee session included questions from a moderator identified as Damon and other questioners who pressed on how much Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts could help affordability if the Fed's primary mandate remains price stability. Hill cautioned that the Fed faces a difficult judgment and that long-term yields — especially the 10-year rate that influences mortgage pricing — are affected by the federal deficit.

The markup continued with discussion of the bill's regulatory and zoning provisions and related policy tools; no formal vote or final action on the measure was recorded in the provided transcript.

The committee hearing closed after Hill finished his remarks; the next procedural steps for the bill were not specified in the record.