Senator Kim’s Major Housing Wins Become Law as Part of Historic 21st Century Road to Housing Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim’s (D-NJ) legislation to expand access to and build more affordable housing became law as a part of the bipartisan 21 st Century ROAD to Housing Act. As a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senator Kim championed multiple bills and provisions that are now law, including facilitating easier access to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster relief funding, modernizing environmental permitting regulations to build affordable homes faster and at a lower cost, and delivering additional common-sense solutions to get more houses built and more New Jersey families in the door. “Despite more of Donald Trump’s political theatrics, our historic housing agreement is now law,” said Senator Kim. “While Trump continues to put himself over people’s needs, Congress stepped up and secured a bipartisan housing agreement that will deliver real relief to millions of families struggling under this affordability crisis. From easier access to CDBG disaster relief funding for our shore towns who have had to wait far too long for federal assistance to building new affordable housing units in Newark and other cities faster and at a lower cost, I fought to make sure this law will touch every corner of our state.” The 21 st Century Road to Housing Act is the largest housing bill to become law in 30 years. Senator Kim championed key provisions within the legislation , including but not limited to: Key Provisions Senator Kim Led The Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act to right-size National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) reviews for small scale housing projects, which will simplify the review process and get projects to construction faster. The BUILD Housing Act to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process by cutting red tape around environmental reviews, empowering state, local, and tribal governments to streamline reviews, and increasing housing development via capacity sharing between the Department of Housing & Urban Development and states and localities. The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (CDBG-DR) to authorize the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and establish the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to administer the program. $4.2 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding has been awarded to the State of New Jersey to assist in its recovery from Superstorm Sandy. Legislation modeled after Senator Kim’s Unleashing Needed Local Options to Construct and Keep (UNLOCK) Housing Act that, after decades of towns and localities pressing for more flexibility for housing construction, allows municipalities, for the first time ever, to use CDBG funding for the construction of new housing. The Community Investment and Prosperity Act to increase private investment in affordable housing and other community development projects across the country by increasing a statutory cap limiting banks’ investments in housing investments. The Tailored Regulatory Updates for Supervisory Testing (TRUST) Act to raise the consolidated asset threshold for community banks to qualify for a longer 18-month and save these banks compliance costs that can be redirected toward increased community investments in their communities. Key Provisions Senator Kim Supported Authorizing an Innovation Fund to offer highly flexible funding for communities that are building more housing supply, which can be used to improve community infrastructure and build housing. The HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Reform Act to reform and reauthorize the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and make critical updates to improve program administration and facilitate the construction of more affordable housing. The Appraisal Modernization Act to require the United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Housing Administration, and Federal Housing Finance Agency to implement and maintain requirements that federally backed mortgage lenders have a review and resolution procedure for consumer-initiated second appraisals, or reconsiderations of value, when they believe there may be an issue with their appraised home value. The Credit Union Board Modernization Act to end the arbitrary requirement for credit union boards to meet every month, relaxing regulatory burdens and allowing credit unions to focus on their core mission of providing financial services to their members. ###