Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmaker urges passage of HR 6644, a sweeping affordable-housing package
Summary
A lawmaker told the House Financial Services Committee that HR 6644, the '21st Century Road to Housing Act,' would expand homeownership, curb corporate landlords, boost renter protections and support community lenders; the remarks cited national housing statistics and outlined major provisions.
A lawmaker told the House Financial Services Committee they support HR 6644, the "21st Century Road to Housing Act," calling it "the most significant housing reform package in decades" and laying out provisions intended to expand affordable housing and protect renters.
"I rise in support of HR 6644, the 21st century Road to Housing Act," the lawmaker said, describing a package of more than 50 housing and banking measures that they said would build new housing, lower mortgage and rental costs and prioritize homebuyers and renters over corporate landlords.
The speaker cited national housing pressures they said the bill is designed to address: a median age of first-time homebuyers of 40; rents that have increased "nearly 47%" since before the pandemic; some 42,000,000 American households described as cost-burdened; and an estimated 800,000 people who experience homelessness on any given night. The lawmaker used those figures to argue for federal action to expand financing and remove barriers to development.
Key elements the lawmaker highlighted include support for community lenders and minority depository institutions to increase affordable financing, expanded access to smaller-dollar mortgages (under $100,000), and incentives for innovative housing such as modular homes and necessary dwelling units. The lawmaker said the bill "incorporates over 50 housing and banking provisions championed by House Democrats" to create new pathways to homeownership and spur housing development.
The legislation, the lawmaker said, would create publicly searchable databases of publicly owned land to help local communities identify sites suitable for housing projects and would codify the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery program to speed flexible funding after major disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.
On renter protections, the lawmaker said HR 6644 would provide a national hotline so tenants could file complaints with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and would require an annual report that publicly names large institutional investors and lists the number and location of their single-family properties. The speaker added the House language seeks to "responsibly rein in corporate landlords" by banning certain large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes while aiming not to halt new rental construction or trigger eviction actions during a housing crisis.
The lawmaker thanked Chairman Hill and others for bipartisan and bicameral input, including support from committee Democrats, the housing and insurance subcommittee ranking member and Senators Warren and Scott. They framed the package as the product of numerous hearings, markups and negotiations and urged colleagues to pass the bill.
The remarks in the transcript ended with the lawmaker reserving the balance of their time; the transcript does not record a committee vote or other formal action on HR 6644.
