The House Financial Services Committee considered 17 bills as part of its hearing on housing infrastructure legislation on April 14, including a draft bill that would provide $2.5 billion for the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program. The funding can also be used to provide residents with access to high-speed internet.

The April 14 hearing, Build Back Better: Investing in Equitable and Affordable Housing Infrastructure, included consideration of both the Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2021 and the Broadband Justice Act of 2021, both of which reflect LeadingAge’s goals in our Blueprint for a Better Aging Infrastructure to greatly expand the supply of affordable senior housing and to secure internet in every affordable senior housing home.

Hearing witness Jacqueline Waggoner, president of the solutions division for Enterprise Community Partners, specifically called out Enterprise’s support for $2.5 billion for new Section 202 homes in her testimony. “The Section 202 program is the only programs that exclusively provides housing assistance and supportive services for seniors. As we emerge from a pandemic that has had a dramatic impact on our elderly population it is essential, we provide this community with the resources they need to remain stably housed during the recovery, we recommend $2.5 billion for Section 202,” Ms. Wagner said.

The draft Housing is Infrastructure Act is the latest iteration of a bill from the last Congress. The new iteration includes more than $237 billion in funding for rental and homeownership programs, close to the $213 billion outlined by President Biden in the housing portion of his proposed American Jobs Plan, the second major package of legislation to be floated by the White House (the first was the American Jobs Plan, which Congress enacted in March 2021; the next expected package is the American Families Plan, which could include sweeping proposals for social programs including housing, education, and healthcare.)

The Broadband Justice Act, H.R. 1904, was introduced on March 16 by Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing Chair Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) and has been endorsed by LeadingAge.

To view the hearing, visit this link.