Public housing plays a critical role in our nation's infrastructure, providing families with a stable home and helping them gain access to other services, including education and health. When we invest in public housing, we help low-income families achieve self-sufficiency and improve life outcomes, but we also generate economic growth, bolster productivity, and positively impact support services while significantly decreasing costs. When we commit substantial federal investment toward public and affordable housing, we revitalize communities, create new jobs, and help break the cycle of poverty. Simply put: housing IS infrastructure. Like roads and bridges, affordable housing is a long-term asset that provides a safe, quality living environment for families. In fact, across the United States, public housing provides 1.2 million units of housing to over 2.2 million people, including 800,000 children, and more than half the population in public housing is elderly and disabled.
Despite how critical public housing is to the stability of many lower-income families, there has been significant disinvestment in public housing over the last two decades. Our public housing stock is aging, and historic levels of underfunding have contributed to the loss of over 10,000 units of housing each year. Between 1990 and 2010, alone, HUD estimates that the U.S. lost over 300,000 units of affordable public housing. This shortage of affordable housing in major metropolitan areas costs the American economy about $2 trillion each year in lower wages and productivity. As the nation struggles with an affordable housing crisis, investing in public housing is investing in infrastructure.
On October 28, after an appeal from President Biden to the House Democratic Caucus to support and pass the Administration’s social and domestic agenda for the reconciliation bill, the House Rules Committee posted the revised text and funding priorities for HR 5376, the Build Back Better Act. The housing provisions in the Build Back Better Act are found and remain in Title IV of the bill. Of the fifty amendments offered by Republican members of the Rules Committee, with no amendments offered by Democratic members, no amendments were offered that affected Title IV or any housing provisions within Title IV of the Build Back Better Act.
Title IV was previously passed by the House Financial Services Committee, led by committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), who was relentless in her advocacy and adamant that housing remain in the final version of the reconciliation bill. Total funding for the housing provisions in Title IV equals $150 billion, an unprecedented amount in funding for housing programs.
The following is CLPHA’s summary of select housing provisions from the revisions found in the Rules Committee version of the Build Back Better Act:
Subtitle A – Creating and Preserving Affordable, Equitable and Accessible Housing for the 21st Century
Sec. 40001. Public Housing Investments – For FY22, appropriates $10 billion in formula grants to the Public Housing Capital Fund to be disbursed within 60 days of enactment, and $53 billion, to remain available until September 30, 2026, for eligible activities under the Capital Fund for priority investments as determined by HUD to repair, replace or construct properties assisted under the Capital Fund. The bill also provides $1.2 billion, to remain available until September 30, 2026, for competitive grants structured similarly to the Choice Neighborhoods Program (“Section 24 Grants. An additional $750 million, to remain available until September 30, 2031, is provided to administer and oversee implementation of the programs under this section, along with $50 million provided for technical assistance Together, funding for the Capital Fund and Choice Neighborhoods total $65 billion.
Sec. 40002. Investments in Affordable and Accessible Housing Production - For FY22, appropriates $9.925 billion to remain available until September 30, 2026, for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME); $14.925 billion to remain available until September 30, 2026, for the Housing Trust Fund; $50 million to remain available until September 30, 2031, for new, or to increase prior technical assistance or capacity building awards; and $100 million to remain available until September 30, 2031, for administering and implementing the HOME and Housing Trust Fund programs. HUD is required to allocate funds using the FY21 formula allocations within 60 days of enactment. Total funding for housing production investments equals $25 billion.
Sec. 40003. Housing Investment Fund – For FY22, appropriates $200 million to establish a Housing Investment Fund (HIF) in the Department of Treasury within the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to: make grants to increase investment in the development, preservation, rehabilitation, financing, or purchase of affordable housing primarily for low-, very-low, and extremely low-income families who are renters, and for homeowners with incomes up to 120 percent of the area median income, and for economic development and community facilities related to such housing and to further fair housing;“ and $50 million for costs to the CDFI Fund to administer and oversee implementation of the HIF. Amounts appropriated remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $250 million.
Sec. 40004. Section 811 Supportive Housing for People with Disabilities – For FY22, appropriates $450 million for capital advances; $7.5 million for technical assistance; and, $42.5 million for administrative costs. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $500 million.
Sec. 40005. Section 202 Supportive Housing for Elderly Program – For FY22, appropriates $450 million for capital advance awards, section 8 project based rental assistance contracts, and service coordinators; $7.5 million for technical assistance; and, $42.5 million for administrative costs. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $500 million.
Sec. 40006. Improving Energy Efficiency or Water Efficiency or Climate Resilience of Affordable Housing – For FY22, appropriates $1.77 billion to remain available until September 30, 2028, to establish a grant program for owners of federally assisted affordable housing to make energy efficiency upgrades, including electrification of systems and appliances, and installation of renewable energy types and improve property resiliency; $25 million to remain available until September 30, 2030, for administrative costs and implementation; $120 million for contract expenses, including property climate risk, energy, or water assessments, due diligence, and underwriting functions; and, $85 million for energy and water benchmarking of properties eligible to receive grants or loans. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $2 billion.
Sec. 40007. Revitalization of Distressed Multifamily Properties – For FY22, appropriates $1.450 billion for forgivable direct loans to owners of distressed properties to make necessary physical improvements; and, $50 million for administrative costs and implementation. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2029. Total funding equals $1.5 billion.
Sec. 40008. Investments in Rural Rental Housing – For FY22, appropriates $1.8 billion to remain available until September 30, 2029, for new construction, improvements to energy and water efficiency or climate resilience, removal of health and safety hazards, and the preservation and revitalization of rural housing. Appropriates $100 million for continued assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; and $100 million for administrative costs and implementation. Total funding equals $2 billion.
Sec. 40009. Housing Vouchers – For FY22, appropriates $15 billion for incremental tenant based rental assistance, renewals, administrative fees and other eligible expenses; $7.1 billion for incremental tenant based rental assistance for households or at risk of homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and survivors of trafficking families, administrative fees and renewals; $1 billion for tenant protection vouchers, administrative fees and renewals; $300 million for competitive grants to public housing agencies for mobility-related services; $230 million for property owner outreach and retention; $300 million for administrative fees and implementation of the Housing Choice Voucher program generally; and $70 million for new awards or increasing prior awards for technical assistance or capacity building. . Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Together, funding for Housing Vouchers totals $24 billion.
Sec. 40010. Project-Based Rental Assistance – For FY 22, appropriates $880 million for the project based rental assistance program; $20 million for technical assistance; $100 million for administrative costs and implementation of the program. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $1 billion.
Subtitle B – 21st Century Sustainable and Equitable Communities
Sec. 40101. Community Development Block Grant Funding for Affordable Housing and Infrastructure – For FY22, appropriates $1.685 billion to grantees under the Community Development Block Grant program; $700 million to Community Development Block Grant colonias grantees; $500 million for manufactured housing infrastructure improvements; $87.5 million to administer and oversee implementation of the CDBG program and the manufactured home construction and safety standards program generally, and other costs; $27.5 million for technical assistance to applicants and recipients of grants. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding for community development equals $3 billion.
Sec. 40102. Lead-Based Paint Hazard and Housing-Related Health and Safety Hazard Mitigation in Housing of Families with Lower Incomes – For FY22 appropriates $3.425 billion for grants to states, units of local government, Indian tribes or tribally designated entities, and nonprofit organizations for activities in housing units that do not receive housing assistance;
$250 million for grants to states or local governments or nonprofit entities for units assisted under the federal Weatherization Assistance Program that are not assisted under other federal housing programs with exceptions; $1 billion to owners of project-based rental assistance with exceptions; $75 million for training and technical assistance to support identification and mitigation of lead and housing-related health and safety hazards, research and hazards; $250 million for HUD to administer and implement this, and other lead hazard reduction and related programs generally. HUD is authorized to determine income eligibility for grants. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $5 billion.
Sec. 40103. Unlocking Possibilities Program – For FY22, appropriates $1.646 billion for planning grant awards to develop and evaluate housing policy plans and substantially improve housing strategies; $8 million for research and evaluation; $30 million for technical assistance; and $66 million for HUD to administer and implement the program. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $1.75 billion.
Sec. 40105. Community Restoration and Revitalization Fund – For FY22, appropriates $2 billion to the Community Restoration and Revitalization Fund for competitive awards of planning and implementation grants to eligible recipients to create or preserve affordable, accessible housing; $500 million for competitive planning and implementation grants to eligible recipients to create, expand, and maintain community land trusts and shared equity homeownership, including through the acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction of affordable, accessible housing; $400 million for technical assistance, capacity building, and program support; and $100 million for the costs of administration and overseeing implementation. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $3 billion.
Subtitle D – HUD and Community Capacity Building
Sec. 40301. Program Administration, Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building, and USICH – For FY22, appropriates $949.25 million to HUD for administering and overseeing implementation of this title and HUD’s programs generally; $43.25 million for HUD Inspector General (IG) salaries and expenses, $5 million for the Treasury IG; and $2.5 million for the Agriculture IG. Amounts remain available until September 30, 2031. Total funding equals $1 billion.
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(Washington, D.C.) October 28, 2021 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement applauding President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better announcement this morning: “The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds President Biden’s announcement of a $1.85 trillion reconciliation framework with $150 billion targeted to affordable housing, the single largest investment in public housing ever. “For decades, millions of public housing residents have suffered from chronic disinvestment in their neighborhoods, exacerbating health, safety, climate risks, and racial inequities. The Build Back Better Act is historic and transformational in its comprehensive long-term approach by making public housing safe and sustainable for generations to come and significantly expanding rental and homeownership assistance. Stable, affordable housing is foundational to the health and economic well-being of all Americans and to our nation as a whole. This unprecedented and long overdue investment in the preservation and expansion of affordable housing, coupled with the Build Back Better Act’s other investments such as universal prekindergarten, the child tax credit, and climate change remediation, will have an historic impact on reducing poverty and improving the climate. “The Biden administration is delivering on a promise that has been decades in the making. CLPHA strongly supports the Building Back Better Act as a history-making investment in public housing and expanding housing opportunities.”
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
October 28, 2021 |
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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(Washington, D.C.) October 1, 2021 -- Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement urging Congress not to cut proposed funding for public housing and rental assistance in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill:
“The transformational Build Back Better Act, proposed by President Biden and currently moving through Congress, will significantly expand the nation’s social safety net by providing safe, quality, and affordable housing to millions of low-income and marginalized families. The $90 billion in expanded rental assistance, $80 billion to preserve public housing, and $37 billion investment in the national Housing Trust Fund that passed the House Financial Services Committee in mid-September represents a significant step forward in federal funding for public and affordable housing. These funding levels are appropriate and justified as they finally make up for generations of chronic neglect and underfunding. For this reason, as negotiations about the size of the reconciliation bill move forward, CLPHA urges Congress to retain the funding levels for expanding rental assistance, preserving public housing, and investing in the nation’s Housing Trust Fund.
“Public and affordable housing has suffered under persistent disinvestment for decades. This has left public housing authorities unable to complete capital improvements, which has helped contribute to the loss of 400,000 affordable homes since 1990. Currently only 1 out of every 4 families who are eligible to receive a Housing Choice Voucher are able to access the program because of a lack of funding. This inadequacy of federal resources not only perpetuates the cycle of poverty, but also costs the American economy about $2 trillion every year in lower wages and productivity because of a shortage of affordable housing in major metropolitan areas.
“CLPHA thanks Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and Senate Housing, Banking, and Urban Chair Sherrod Brown for championing housing throughout their careers and during the negotiations over the Build Back Better reconciliation process. Now Congress must commit to fully funding public and affordable housing at the levels in the House Financial Services Committee bill.”
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(202) 550-1381
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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Yesterday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) introduced a legislative housing package to make rental housing more affordable, end homelessness, and encourage homeownership.
The three bills in the package include the Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2021, which provides a historic investment of more than $600 billion in equitable, affordable, and accessible housing infrastructure; The Ending Homelessness Act of 2021, which transforms the Housing Choice Voucher program into an entitlement; and the Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021, which provides $100 billion toward downpayment and other financial assistance for first-generation homebuyers to purchase their first home.
CLPHA has endorsed the Housing is Infrastructure Act. Chairwoman Water’s intent is that these bills be included in the budget reconciliation bill moving through Congress now. CLPHA will keep members updated on the progress of these bills.
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
May 11, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) May 11, 2021 – CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman released the following statement supporting the New York City Housing Authority’s call to double the public housing infrastructure investment proposed in the American Jobs Plan to $80 billion:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities urges the Senate Majority Leader to stand firm on his call to double the public housing infrastructure investment in the American Jobs Plan to $80 billion in his meeting today with President Biden, Speaker Pelosi and GOP leadership.
“The New York City Housing Authority deserves its fair share of Senator Schumer’s request since it serves nearly double the amount of residents than any other housing authority, and its housing portfolio is among the oldest in the nation. Decades of chronic disinvestment has driven its unmet capital repairs alone to $40 billion. The $80 billion request enjoys critical support from Congresswoman Nydia Valezquez (D-NY) and the NYC-area Congressional delegation. This investment would also be a significant step to addressing racial inequity, a key priority of the Biden administration.
“As the American Jobs Plan moves through the legislative process, political leaders must guarantee that housing will remain in the infrastructure bill and that the commitment to recapitalize public housing infrastructure be doubled to $80 billion so that the needs of NYCHA and public housing portfolios across the nation are adequately met.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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