I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5187 

To facilitate the development of affordable housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2019 

Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To facilitate the development of affordable housing, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing is Infrastruc5 ture Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Affordable housing is a critical part of the 

9 national infrastructure of the United States but 

10 there is a severe shortage of affordable housing in 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5187 IH

1 the United States and the existing stock is badly in 

2 need of repair. 

3 (2) According to a 2010 study sponsored by the 

4 Department of Housing and Urban Development, 

5 there was a $26 billion backlog of capital needs for 

6 public housing; that figure is likely higher today, 

7 with some groups estimating the backlog of capital 

8 needs for public housing to be as high as $70 billion. 

9 (3) There are 14,000 units supported by Rural 

10 Rental Housing Loans under section 515 of the 

11 Housing Act of 1949 and Farm Labor Housing 

12 Loans under section 514 of the Housing Act of 

13 1949 that have an estimated unmet reserve need of 

14 $5,600,000,000 according to the latest estimate 

15 from the Department of Agriculture. 

16 (4) Federal investment in housing helps to cre17 ate jobs and stimulate the economy. 

18 (5) When the American Recovery and Reinvest19 ment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) was enacted, 

20 which included funding for public housing, research21 ers found that for each $1.00 in direct spending on 

22 public housing, there was an additional $2.12 of in23 direct and induced economic activity nationwide for 

24 a total economic impact of $3.12 for each $1.00 in 

25 direct spending on public housing. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (6) According to the National Association of 

2 Home Builders, building 100 affordable rental 

3 homes generates $11.7 million in local income, 

4 $2,200,000 in taxes and revenue for local govern5 ments, and 161 local jobs. 

6 (7) Researchers estimate that the growth in the 

7 gross domestic product from 1964–2009 would have 

8 been 13.5 percent higher if families had better ac9 cess to affordable housing, which in turn could have 

10 led to an additional $1.7 trillion increase in income, 

11 equivalent to $8,775 in additional wages for each 

12 worker. 

13 SEC. 3. PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL FUND. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro15 priated for the Capital Fund under section 9(d) of the 

16 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)) 

17 $70,000,000,000 and any amounts appropriated pursuant 

18 to this subsection shall remain available until the expira19 tion of the 5-year period beginning upon the date of such 

20 appropriation. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of Housing and 

22 Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec23 retary’’) shall— 

24 (1) distribute not less than 35 percent and not 

25 more than 75 percent of any amounts appropriated 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5187 IH

1 pursuant to subsection (a) under the same formula 

2 used for amounts made available for the Capital 

3 Fund for fiscal year 2019, except that the Secretary 

4 may determine not to allocate funding to public 

5 housing agencies that are designated as troubled at 

6 the time of such determination or to public housing 

7 agencies that elect not to accept such funding, or 

8 both; and 

9 (2) make available all remaining amounts by 

10 competition for priority investments, including in11 vestments that address lead hazards, other urgent 

12 health and safety concerns, and such other priorities 

13 as the Secretary may identify. 

14 (c) TIMING.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

15 Development shall obligate amounts— 

16 (1) made available under subsection (b)(1) 

17 within 30 days of enactment of the Act appro18 priating such funds; and 

19 (2) made available under subsection (b)(2) 

20 within 12 months of enactment of the Act appro21 priating such funds. 

22 (d) LIMITATION.—Amounts provided pursuant to 

23 this section may not be used for operating costs or rental 

24 assistance. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—Not more than 0.5 percent of 

2 any amount appropriated pursuant to this section shall be 

3 used by the Secretary for costs associated with staff, train4 ing, technical assistance, technology, monitoring, travel, 

5 enforcement, research, and evaluation. 

6 (f) MONITORING.—With respect to any public hous7 ing agency that is designated as troubled at the time that 

8 amounts appropriated pursuant to this section are obli9 gated for such public housing agency, the Secretary shall 

10 provide additional monitoring and oversight of such public 

11 housing authorities to ensure that any amounts provided 

12 are used in accordance with this section and any applica13 ble laws. 

14 (g) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—The Secretary 

15 shall ensure that amounts provided pursuant to this sec16 tion shall serve to supplement and not supplant other 

17 amounts generated by a recipient of such amounts or 

18 amounts provided by other Federal, State, or local 

19 sources. 

20 (h) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—In distrib21 uting any amounts pursuant to subsection (b), the Sec22 retary shall give priority to public housing agencies located 

23 in States and localities that have a plan to increase water 

24 and energy efficiency when developing or rehabilitating 

25 public housing using any amounts distributed. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5187 IH

1 SEC. 4. RURAL MULTIFAMILY PRESERVATION AND REVI2 TALIZATION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro4 priated for carrying out the Multifamily Preservation and 

5 Revitalization Demonstration program of the Rural Hous6 ing Service (as authorized under sections 514, 515, and 

7 516 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484; 1485; 

8 1486)) $1,000,000,000 and any amounts appropriated 

9 pursuant to this section shall remain available until ex10 pended. 

11 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

12 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

13 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 

14 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre15 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

16 SEC. 5. FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated for carrying out the Flood Mitigation Assistance 

19 Grant Program under section 1366 of the National Flood 

20 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c) $1,000,000,000 

21 and any amounts appropriated pursuant to this section 

22 shall remain available until expended. 

23 (b) MULTIFAMILY RESIDENCES AND ATTACHED AND

24 SEMI-ATTACHED HOMES.—With regard to any structure 

25 that is a multifamily residence or an attached or semi26 attached residence, the Administrator shall consult with 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 5187 IH

1 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and es2 tablish alternative forms of mitigation. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

4 the term ‘‘multifamily residence’’ has the same meaning 

5 as in the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the 

6 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. 

7 SEC. 6. HOUSING TRUST FUND. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro9 priated for the Housing Trust Fund under section 1338 

10 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1992 (12 

11 U.S.C. 4568) $5,000,000,000 and any amounts appro12 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

13 until expended. The Secretary shall ensure that priority 

14 for occupancy in dwelling units assisted with amounts 

15 made available pursuant to this section that become avail16 able for occupancy shall be given to persons and house17 holds who are homeless (as such term is defined in section 

18 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 11302)) or at risk of homelessness (as such term 

20 is defined in section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11360)). 

21 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

22 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

23 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 

24 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre25 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 5187 IH

1 SEC. 7. SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING REPAIR LOANS AND 

2 GRANTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro4 priated for carrying out single family housing repair loans 

5 and grants under section 504 of the Housing Act of 1949 

6 (42 U.S.C. 1474) $100,000,000 and any amounts appro7 priated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

8 until expended. 

9 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

10 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

11 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 

12 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre13 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

14 SEC. 8. NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING BLOCK GRANT PRO15 GRAM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro17 priated for carrying out the Native American housing 

18 block grant program under title I of the Native American 

19 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 

20 (25 U.S.C. 4111 et seq.) $1,000,000,000 and any 

21 amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall re22 main available until expended. 

23 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

24 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

25 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 5187 IH

1 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre2 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

3 SEC. 9. HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated for carrying out the HOME Investment Partner6 ship Program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na7 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.) 

8 $5,000,000,000 and any amounts appropriated pursuant 

9 to this section shall remain available until expended. 

10 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

11 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

12 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 

13 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre14 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

15 SEC. 10. PROGRAM FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PER16 SONS WITH DISABILITIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated $2,500,000,000 for project rental assistance under 

19 the program for supportive housing for persons with dis20 abilities under section 811(b)(3) of the Cranston-Gonzalez 

21 National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(b)(3)) 

22 for State housing finance agencies and any amounts ap23 propriated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

24 until expended. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

2 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

3 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 

4 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre5 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

6 SEC. 11. PROGRAM FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR THE 

7 ELDERLY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro9 priated $2,500,000,000 for— 

10 (1) capital advances pursuant to section 

11 202(c)(1) of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 

12 1701q(c)(1)), including amendments to capital ad13 vance contracts for housing for the elderly as au14 thorized by section 202 of such Act; 

15 (2) project rental assistance for the elderly 

16 under section 202(c)(2) of such Act, including 

17 amendments to contracts for such assistance and re18 newal of expiring contracts for such assistance for 

19 up to a 1-year term; 

20 (3) senior preservation rental assistance con21 tracts, including renewals, as authorized by section 

22 811(e) of the American Housing and Economic Op23 portunity Act of 2000 (12 U.S.C. 1701g note); and 

24 (4) supportive services associated with housing 

25 assisted under paragraph (1), (2), or (3). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Any amounts ap2 propriated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

3 until September 30, 2023. 

4 (c) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

5 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

6 to this section shall be used only for activities relating to 

7 water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s discre8 tion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

9 SEC. 12. CAPITAL MAGNET FUND. 

10 (a) There is authorized to be appropriated for the 

11 Capital Magnet Fund under section 1339 of the Federal 

12 Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act 

13 of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4569) $2,500,000,000 and any 

14 amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall re15 main available until expended. 

16 (b) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

17 than 10 percent of all amounts made available pursuant 

18 to this subsection shall be used only for activities relating 

19 to water and energy efficiency and, at the Secretary’s dis20 cretion, other strategies to reduce emissions. 

21 SEC. 13. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUND22 ING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND INFRA23 STRUCTURE. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of 

2 this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

3 for assistance under the community development 

4 block grant program under title I of the Housing 

5 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

6 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) $10,000,000,000 and any 

7 amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall 

8 remain available until expended. 

9 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PLANNING COSTS.— 

10 Not more than 15 percent of any amounts appro11 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) may be used for 

12 administrative and planning costs. 

13 (b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts made available 

14 for assistance under this section may be used only for— 

15 (1) the development and preservation of quali16 fied affordable housing, including the construction of 

17 such housing; 

18 (2) the responsible elimination or waiving of 

19 zoning requirements and other requirements that 

20 limit affordable housing development, including high 

21 density and multifamily development restrictions, 

22 off-street parking requirements, and height limita23 tions; or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (3) any project or entity eligible for a discre2 tionary grant provided by the Department of Trans3 portation. 

4 (c) LIMITATION.—With respect to amounts used pur5 suant to subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall ensure that 

6 recipients of amounts provided pursuant to this section 

7 are not incentivized or otherwise rewarded for eliminating 

8 or undermining the intent of the zoning regulations or 

9 other regulations or policies that— 

10 (1) establish fair wages for labors; 

11 (2) ensure the health and safety of buildings for 

12 residents and the general public; 

13 (3) protect fair housing; 

14 (4) provide environmental protections; 

15 (5) prevent tenant displacement; or 

16 (6) protect any other interest that the Secretary 

17 determines is in the public interest to preserve. 

18 (d) COMPETITION.—Amounts made available for as19 sistance under this section shall be awarded to States, 

20 units of general local government, and Indian tribes on 

21 a competitive basis, based on the extent to which the appli22 cant— 

23 (1) demonstrates that the applicant is respon24 sibly streamlining the process for development of 

25 qualified affordable housing; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (2) is eliminating or reducing impact fees for 

2 housing within boundaries of the State, unit of local 

3 government, or Indian tribe, as applicable, and other 

4 assessments by State or local governments upon the 

5 owners of new housing development projects that 

6 offset governmental capital expenditures for infra7 structure required to serve or made necessary by the 

8 new housing developments, except for fees that are 

9 invested exclusively for housing; and 

10 (3) provides assurances that the applicant will 

11 supplement assistance provided under this section 

12 with amounts from non-Federal sources for costs of 

13 the qualified affordable housing or infrastructure eli14 gible under subsection (b) to be funded with assist15 ance under this section, and the extent of such sup16 plemental assistance to be provided. 

17 (e) WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.—Not less 

18 than 10 percent of all amounts made available for assist19 ance pursuant to this section shall be used only for eligible 

20 activities relating to water and energy efficiency and, at 

21 the Secretary’s discretion, other strategies to reduce emis22 sions. 

23 (f) QUALIFIED AFFORDABLE HOUSING.—For pur24 poses of this section, the term ‘‘qualified affordable hous25 ing’’ means a housing development that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (1) is either— 

2 (A) funded in any part by assistance pro3 vided by the Department of Housing and Urban 

4 Development or the Rural Housing Service of 

5 the Department of Agriculture; or 

6 (B) includes a qualified low income build7 ing as such term is defined in section 42 of the 

8 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

9 (2) consists of 5 or more dwelling units of 

10 which 20 percent or more are made available— 

11 (A) for rental only by a low-income family 

12 (as defined in section 3(b) of the United States 

13 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))); 

14 (B) at a monthly rent amount that does 

15 not exceed 30 percent of the monthly adjusted 

16 income (as defined in such section 3(b)) of the 

17 tenant low-income family; and 

18 (C) maintains affordability for residents 

19 who are low-income families for a period of not 

20 less than 30 years. 

21 SEC. 14. INCLUSION OF MINORITY AND WOMEN’S BUSINESS 

22 ENTERPRISES. 

23 (a) DUTY.—It shall be the duty of each relevant 

24 agency head— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•HR 5187 IH

1 (1) to consult and cooperate with grantees and 

2 recipients, when utilizing funds made available pur3 suant to this Act, to promote the inclusion of minor4 ity and women’s business enterprises, as defined in 

5 subsection (b) including to establish— 

6 (A) special consideration to increasing 

7 grantee and recipient outreach to minority and 

8 women’s business enterprises to inform such 

9 businesses of hiring opportunities created 

10 through such funds; and 

11 (B) procurement goals for the utilization of 

12 minority and women’s business enterprises; and 

13 (2) to convene meetings with leaders and offi14 cials of State and local governments, tribal entities, 

15 and public housing authorities for the purpose of 

16 recommending and promoting funding opportunities 

17 and initiatives needed to advance the position of mi18 nority and women’s business enterprises when com19 peting for funds provided in this Act. 

20 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

21 the following definitions shall apply: 

22 (1) MINORITY.—The term ‘‘minority’’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 308(b) of the 

24 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and En25 forcement Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. 1463 note) and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
17 

•HR 5187 IH

1 also includes any indigenous person in the United 

2 States or its territories. 

3 (2) MINORITY AND WOMEN’S BUSINESS ENTER4 PRISE.—The term ‘‘minority and women’s business 

5 enterprise’’ means a business at least 51 percent 

6 owned and controlled by minority group members or 

7 women. 

8 (3) RELEVANT AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘rel9 evant agency head’’ means, with respect to funds 

10 made available pursuant to any section of this Act, 

11 the head of the Federal agency responsible for ad12 ministering the program under which such funds are 

13 to be expended. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS