Rep. Bera Announces Support for 25 Housing Bills to Address Affordability Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06) announced that he is cosponsoring 25 housing-related bills aimed at increasing housing supply across the country, improving affordability, and helping more families find a safe, stable, and affordable place to live.
“At a time when too many families are being priced out of the housing market, Congress should be focused on advancing real solutions to build more homes and bring costs down,” said Representative Ami Bera, M.D. “There is no single solution to our housing crisis, but we can make real progress by cutting red tape, modernizing outdated rules, expanding access to financing, and championing innovative ways to build more housing faster. These bills reflect a commonsense approach to bolstering supply and making housing more affordable for working families, seniors, veterans, and first-time homebuyers.”
The bills Bera is cosponsoring address several key issues to tackle housing affordability:
Easing barriers that slow housing construction Several of the bills would help communities accelerate housing production by streamlining federal reviews, improving coordination across agencies, encouraging the use of pre-reviewed building designs, and helping state and local governments adopt policies that support more housing at all income levels.
Expanding access to homeownership A number of the bills focus on making it easier for families to buy a home by expanding access to small-dollar mortgages, supporting manufactured housing, updating financing rules, and improving awareness of home loan benefits for veterans.
Making more land and local resources available for housing The bills also include proposals to help communities identify publicly owned land that could be used for housing, strengthen regional housing planning, and give state and local governments greater flexibility to use existing federal resources to support new development.
Improving access to financing for housing development Bera is also backing measures to support community banks, credit unions, and community development-focused lenders that play an important role in financing housing production and neighborhood investment. These bills are designed to improve access to capital and promote stronger local lending capacity.
Improving accountability and protecting residents In addition to increasing supply, the bills improve oversight of federal housing programs and public housing agencies, while also helping connect tenants with support when they are at risk of eviction.
“Housing affordability is one of the biggest economic challenges facing families in Sacramento County and across the country,” Bera continued. “We need to tackle this crisis with urgency and with practical solutions that can actually move the needle. That means making it easier to build, easier to finance, and easier for families to find an affordable place to live.”
The bills Bera is cosponsoring include:
Boosting housing supply and reducing barriers to construction
Expanding homeownership and modernizing housing options
Unlocking land and local capacity
Strengthening community finance and lending
Improving oversight and tenant support

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