Members of congress have introduced numerous affordable housing bills so far this session. Below, a review of those of particular interest to affordable senior housing providers.

On April 2, Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced their bill to address longstanding issues in USDA Rural Housing Service programs. The bill, S. 1260, the Rural Housing Service Reform Act, would authorize the decoupling of Section 521 Rental Assistance from the Section 515 rural rental housing mortgage loans so that households can keep their rental assistance after the mortgage has been paid off or has matured. The bill would also bring RHS’s method for determining household incomes in synch with HUD’s practices and update home repair loans program to make it less burdensome to get smaller loans, among other changes.

On March 31, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Housing Voucher Fairness Act, S. 1203. The bill would authorize $2 billion for new Housing Choice Vouchers for public housing authorities representing the country’s 25 fastest-growing cities over from 2012 to 2022, arguing that “vouchers are kept at a relatively flat annual rate based on outdated population calculations dating back to the 20th century. The yearly flat allocation of vouchers means that the nation’s fastest-growing cities are left with an ever-increasing gap in the supply of housing vouchers compared to the rapid demand for affordable housing.”

Identical bills were introduced in the House and Senate on March 11 to update HUD’s HOME Investment Partnership program for the first time since 1994. The HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act would reauthorize the HOME program, authorize $5 billion for fiscal year 2025, enable HOME funds to support shared equity homeownership programs, and increase HOME funds for nonprofits, among other improvements.

Expected soon is the reintroduction of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, bipartisan bicameral legislation to expand and improve the low income housing tax credit.

LeadingAge supports these bills.