Lawmaker outlines GOP bill to cut HUD red tape, boost housing supply and hold HUD accountable

A lawmaker outlined a Republican-backed bill aimed at lowering housing costs by cutting zoning and regulatory barriers, revising Department of Housing and Urban Development building codes for manufactured and modular homes, and reducing certain environmental-review requirements for federal housing funds.

The bill, the lawmaker said, combines measures to reduce per-square-foot construction costs with incentives for states to reform zoning and ‘‘hold HUD accountable’’ for public housing oversight. He framed the proposal as a supply-side approach that also supports community banks as the source of capital for much home construction lending.

"This bill lowers the cost per square foot, gives incentives to blue states and red states to cut their burdensome zoning and development regimes," the lawmaker said, and called the measure "center right Republican policy" rooted in past HUD reform efforts.

He described post-pandemic affordability pressures, saying housing prices have surged and noting, by his account, that the average first-time buyer is about 40 years old. He offered a personal anecdote about buying his first house when mortgage rates were, he said, 15% fixed for 30 years to illustrate the affordability challenge.

On building standards, the lawmaker said the bill "legislates for the first time since 1982 new building codes for the Department of Housing and Urban Development on manufactured housing, on modular housing," which he said would lower costs in both rural and urban communities.

He also tied the bill to community-banking measures, saying community banks provide a large share of home-construction loans: "6 out of 10 home loans in this nation are loaned to a builder or to a couple building a house from a bank under $10,000,000,000," and that community banks make roughly 60% of construction loans, by his account.

The lawmaker argued the bill reduces certain federal environmental-review requirements so local recipients of HOME funds could proceed with construction more quickly. "We took out environmental reviews so that some housing or department in Little Rock, Arkansas can use HOME funds to build a house," he said, criticizing current review processes as excessive.

He urged stronger HUD oversight, citing investigations he said are underway into public housing agencies in Little Rock, Jacksonville, Maumelle and North Little Rock for alleged mismanagement. He invoked comments by Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, who, the lawmaker said, described growing up with limited housing options to underscore the stakes for families.

The lawmaker emphasized bipartisan cooperation, praising Senate and House leaders and saying the measure met the presidential test of protecting first-time buyers from being outbid by institutional investors. He said the bill had passed with "large majorities," without providing vote tallies or procedural details in the remarks recorded in the transcript.

The remarks did not include formal vote counts, bill numbers, or a named sponsor in the transcript. The lawmaker framed the measure as part of an effort to reduce regulation, increase housing supply and direct capital toward local builders through community banks.

Looking ahead, the lawmaker described the outcome as a legislative success and thanked colleagues for working across chambers, but the transcript did not record committee votes, legislative citations, or an implementation timeline.