Building on the momentum of affordable housing advocacy across the country, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2018, a major and wide-sweeping new housing bill that aims to build or rehabilitate more than 3 million new affordable homes over a period of ten years at a cost of nearly a $500 billion dollars. NYHC applauds Senator Warren for proposing this monumental and ground-breaking legislation that is aimed to directly combat the affordable housing crisis plaguing our city, state and nation. In NY, this legislation will increase the development of affordable housing, lower rents, reduce homelessness, decrease housing discrimination, and open new doors to home ownership for lower income households. Below are key funding highlights of the legislation:
- $445 billion would be invested in the national Housing Trust Fund.
- $25 billion in the Capital Magnet Fund.
- $10 billion in grants for infrastructure development to local governments that amend their land use rules to allow for the development of more affordable housing.
- $2 billion in the Indian Housing Block Grant.
- $4 billion in a new “Middle-Class Housing Emergency Fund,” to support the construction of homes in areas where supply is limited, and housing prices have increased faster than incomes.
- $2 billion to support borrowers whose wealth was destroyed in the 2008 financial crisis and who still have negative equity on their mortgages.
- $523 million in rural housing programs.
- Down payment grants to first-time low-to-moderate income homebuyers in formerly red-lined or officially segregated areas.
- Expand the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income.
- Expand the scope of financial institutions covered under the Community Reinvestment Act and strengthen its sanctions.
- Modify the guidelines for the Housing Choice Voucher program to make it easier for recipients to use their vouchers to secure housing in neighborhoods with good schools.