The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services approved three bills addressing affordable housing on June 22: the “Grandfamily Housing Act” (H.R.3111), the “Housing Fairness Act” (H.R.68), and the “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022” (H.R.7981). NLIHC has endorsed each bill.
The “Grandfamily Housing Act” was introduced on May 5 by Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). If enacted, the bill would create a new HUD grant program for owners of intergenerational homes to fund services like tutoring, health care, and childcare; perform community outreach to families living in intergenerational homes; and for the maintenance of properties used for programs and services. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 29-24.
The “Housing Fairness Act” was introduced on January 4, 2021, by Representatives Al Green (D-TX), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). The bill would expand efforts to detect and address housing discrimination by mandating that HUD conduct a nationwide testing program to identify and document instances of housing discrimination against federally protected classes, including race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, and national origin. The bill also reauthorizes the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, which supports organizations providing direct assistance to victims of housing discrimination, through FY25, and would establish a grant program at HUD to fund studies by nonprofit organizations investigating the causes and impacts of housing discrimination and to implement pilot projects aimed at preventing housing discrimination. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 28-24.
The “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act” was introduced on June 8 by Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), and Brendan Boyle (D-PA). If enacted, the bill would require federally assisted housing to have either tamper-resistant or hardwired smoke alarms. The bill passed out of committee by a voice vote.
“No one should have to choose between an affordable place to live and a home that is safe,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel in a press release on the “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act.” “Because of decades of federal disinvestment by Congress, however, some of America’s lowest-income and most marginalized households have no choice but to live in homes without adequate heat or other basic safety standards, putting their health – or even their lives – at risk. While robust federal resources such as those included in the House-passed Build Back Better Act are needed to repair and preserve public housing for future generations, improving the quality of smoke detectors in all federally assisted housing is a simple, common-sense step in the right direction that will save lives.”
Learn more about the “Grandfamily Housing Act” at: https://bit.ly/3xU0H40
Learn more about the “Housing Fairness Act” at: https://bit.ly/3bqe5oG
Learn more about the “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act” at: https://bit.ly/3QKVfcg
Read the press release for the “Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act” at: https://bit.ly/3OEgxqf