Biden Administration Announced $100 million investment Tuesday aimed to combat barriers to affordable housing construction.
The funding will be provided through the Pathways to Removing Barriers to Housing program, which provides grants to state and local governments and other entities. Greater Effort “Identifying and removing barriers to the creation and preservation of affordable housing.”
The program, which is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), allows grant recipients to use the grant money to develop and implement housing policy plans and promote the construction of affordable housing, among other initiatives.
Acting HUD Secretary Adrienne Todman said Tuesday that the competitive grant funding is “designed to cut through red tape and ensure that we increase the construction of housing, especially affordable housing, with urgency because people need help now.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to reduce housing costs by increasing the nation’s housing supply, and working with local communities is critical to achieving this goal.”
HUD said the funding was made possible by a comprehensive government funding package passed by Congress with bipartisan support earlier this year. The bill provided HUD with more than $70 billion in funding for the fiscal year that ends at the end of September.
Vice President Harris announced the program’s first wave of grant recipients in June, saying at the time that the administration would provide $85 million to more than 20 cities and states to address barriers to affordable housing.
Marion McFadden, principal assistant secretary for Community Planning and Development, said in a statement that the communities that received funding are “already doing great work to modernize local policies, invest in their communities, and build more housing.”
McFadden said the second round of competition will prioritize “communities that have already demonstrated a commitment to overcoming local barriers, primarily by enacting legal and regulatory improvements, and are in desperate need of affordable housing.”
The administration announced additional measures Tuesday as part of what it called the “Housing Delivery Action Plan,” including changes to the Federal Loan Bank’s multifamily risk-sharing program, measures aimed at “streamlining requirements for transit-oriented development projects,” and a $250 million initiative “to require communities to use Section 108 for housing construction.”
Some polls suggest rising home prices could be a key issue for voters ahead of a crucial election in November.
June, investigation A survey conducted by real estate firm Redfin found that 91% of Gen Z adults see rising home prices as an important election issue.
