Hirono, Colleagues Reintroduce Comprehensive Bill to Lower Housing Costs and Address Housing Crisis

~ Bicameral legislation would build nearly three million new homes, bring down rents by 10%, cut red tape ~

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), U.S. Representative Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MS), and six Senate colleagues in reintroducing the comprehensive American Housing and Economic Mobility Act to address our nation’s housing crisis. The bill would leverage federal funding to build nearly three million new housing units, bring down rents by 10% for American families, and create incentives for local governments to eliminate unnecessary land use restrictions that drive up costs. 

“As the cost of living continues to increase, hard-working Americans are suffering, many struggling to afford their homes or even without a place to call home,” said Senator Hirono. “Everyone deserves safe, affordable housing and this legislation would help to address our country’s housing crisis by increasing the availability of housing and working toward leveling the playing field to allow for working families everywhere to afford a place to live.”

According to an independent analysis by the non-partisan Moody’s Analytics, the bill would build or rehabilitate nearly 3 million housing units over the next decade and bring down rents for lower-income and middle-class families by 10%, saving the average family $140 per month. To fully offset the cost of this historic effort, the bill returns the estate tax thresholds to their levels at the end of the George W. Bush administration, institutes more progressive rates above those thresholds, and closes certain loopholes.

The American Housing and Economic Mobility Act would:

• Leverage federal funding to build nearly 3 million new housing units – bringing down rents for lower-income and middle-class families by 10% according to an independent analysis from Moody’s Analytics
• Provide assistance to people hurt by federal housing policy failures, including through:
• Down payment assistance to first-time, first-generation homebuyers
• VA-guaranteed home loan eligibility for descendants of certain veterans
• A grant program for communities with an appraisal gap
• Create incentives for local governments to eliminate unnecessary land use restrictions that drive up costs
• Limit the role of private equity in the housing market
• Hold financial institutions accountable for providing access to credit for all Americans.
• Promote mobility by strengthening anti-discrimination laws and improving the housing voucher program
• Increase the amount of accessible housing

More than 50 non-profit organizations, ranging from unions to housing advocates, have endorsed the bill, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). A coalition of Massachusetts mayors, civil rights groups, the National Rural Housing Coalition, and the Cooperative Credit Union Association submitted letters of support. 

In addition to Senators Hirono, Warren, and Warnock, the legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

The full text of the legislation is available here.

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