I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2126 

To authorize a grant program for the development and implementation of 

housing supply and affordability plans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2021 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, and Mrs. 

BEATTY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize a grant program for the development and implementation of housing supply and affordability plans, 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 Supply and 

5 Affordability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOCAL HOUSING POLICY GRANT PILOT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

2 means the Department of Housing and Urban De3 velopment. 

4 (2) COST-BURDENED HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

5 ‘‘cost-burdened household’’ means a household that 

6 spends not less than 30 percent of the income of the 

7 household on housing. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means a State, a political subdivision of a State, 

10 a coalition of States or political subdivisions of 

11 States, an Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian orga12 nization that— 

13 (A) demonstrates, with respect to the area 

14 under the jurisdiction of the State, political 

15 subdivision, coalition, Indian Tribe, or organiza16 tion— 

17 (i) rising housing costs or a reason18 able expectation that housing costs will rise 

19 in the area; and 

20 (ii) a housing supply shortage; 

21 (B) if applying for a planning grant— 

22 (i) intends to develop, or is in the 

23 process of developing, a housing policy 

24 plan; and 


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1 (ii) demonstrates an intent to use a 

2 portion of the planning grant to engage 

3 with community stakeholders and housing 

4 practitioners in developing a housing policy 

5 plan; and 

6 (C) if applying for an implementation 

7 grant— 

8 (i) has adopted and plans to imple9 ment, or is in the process of implementing, 

10 a housing policy plan; and 

11 (ii) demonstrates the engagement of 

12 community stakeholders and housing prac13 titioners in developing the housing policy 

14 plan. 

15 (4) HOUSING POLICY PLAN.—The term ‘‘hous16 ing policy plan’’ means a comprehensive plan of an 

17 eligible entity to, with respect to the area under the 

18 jurisdiction of the eligible entity— 

19 (A) increase the housing supply in the 

20 area, while avoiding the displacement of the 

21 residents of the area; 

22 (B) increase the affordability of housing in 

23 the area; and 

24 (C) reduce barriers to housing development 

25 in the area. 


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1 (5) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘‘im2 plementation grant’’ means a grant awarded under 

3 subsection (c). 

4 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

8 (7) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ has the mean10 ing given the term in section 2 of the Native Amer11 ican Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 

12 U.S.C. 3001). 

13 (8) PLANNING GRANT.—The term ‘‘planning 

14 grant’’ means a grant awarded under subsection (b). 

15 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 

17 acting through the Assistant Secretary for Commu18 nity Planning and Development, in coordination 

19 with— 

20 (A) the Office of Economic Resilience of 

21 the Office of Community Planning and Develop22 ment of the Department; 

23 (B) the Office of Policy Development and 

24 Research of the Department; 


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1 (C) the Office of Fair Housing and Equal 

2 Opportunity of the Department; 

3 (D) the Office of Housing of the Depart4 ment; and 

5 (E) the Office of Public and Indian Hous6 ing of the Department. 

7 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 

8 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

9 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is10 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

11 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession 

12 of the United States. 

13 (b) PLANNING GRANTS.—The Secretary may award 

14 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for the 

15 purpose of developing and evaluating housing policy plans. 

16 (c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The Secretary may 

17 award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for 

18 the purpose of implementing housing policy plans. 

19 (d) RURAL AREA MINIMUM.—The Secretary shall 

20 award not less than 10 percent of the funds awarded to 

21 eligible entities under this section to eligible entities lo22 cated in rural areas. 

23 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

25 grant under this section shall submit to the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126

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1 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

2 and containing such information as the Secretary 

3 may require. 

4 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

5 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligi6 ble entity that— 

7 (A) has or is likely to develop a housing 

8 policy plan that will— 

9 (i) improve housing supply, afford10 ability, and accessibility for all individuals 

11 of every race and income level; 

12 (ii) reduce barriers to affordable hous13 ing development; and 

14 (iii) avoid the displacement of resi15 dents by new housing developments in the 

16 area under the jurisdiction of the eligible 

17 entity; 

18 (B) in developing or implementing a hous19 ing policy plan, intends to leverage and effi20 ciently use funds from— 

21 (i) another Federal, State, or local as22 sistance program relating to housing; or 

23 (ii) a private funding source; 

24 (C) intends to— 


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1 (i) increase the supply and afford2 ability of housing that is located— 

3 (I) near local transit options; and 

4 (II) in areas in which a signifi5 cant or expanding supply of jobs or 

6 demand for employment is con7 centrated; 

8 (ii) coordinate with local transpor9 tation and workforce agencies in accom10 plishing the increase described in clause 

11 (i); and 

12 (iii) where appropriate, coordinate pol13 icy development for, and analysis and im14 plementation of, the housing policy plan of 

15 the eligible entity at a regional scale to 

16 achieve a more equitable distribution of af17 fordable housing across jurisdictional 

18 boundaries; or 

19 (D) is a coalition of States or political sub20 divisions of States. 

21 (3) SCORING.—The Secretary shall base the de22 gree of priority given to an eligible entity that satis23 fies 1 or more subparagraphs under paragraph (2) 

24 on a scoring system established by the Secretary. 

25 (f) HOUSING POLICY PLAN GUIDANCE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue 

2 guidance that includes recommended policies, strate3 gies, and reforms for eligible entities to adopt in 

4 housing policy plans to— 

5 (A) improve the elasticity of housing sup6 ply; 

7 (B) expand the supply and affordability of 

8 housing; 

9 (C) reduce barriers to housing develop10 ment; and 

11 (D) meaningfully reduce housing segrega12 tion by income and race. 

13 (2) POLICIES.—The guidance issued under 

14 paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for 

15 policies, strategies, and reforms to— 

16 (A) encourage and support the repurposing 

17 of land or structures for housing development; 

18 (B) allow for a greater variety of housing 

19 types; 

20 (C) revise land use policies to allow for the 

21 development of more housing; 

22 (D) streamline approval processes for 

23 housing development; 

24 (E) provide financial incentives to support 

25 affordable housing development; and 


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1 (F) support inclusive engagement with 

2 community members relating to reforms to ex3 pand housing supply. 

4 (3) AREAS.—The guidance issued under para5 graph (1) shall include recommendations for policies, 

6 strategies, and reforms for urban, suburban, and 

7 rural areas. 

8 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), an 

10 eligible entity that receives a grant under this sec11 tion shall provide non-Federal contributions in an 

12 amount equal to the amount of the grant. 

13 (2) ELIGIBLE MATCHING FUNDS.—If an eligible 

14 entity uses funds from another Federal assistance 

15 program relating to housing in developing or imple16 menting a housing policy plan for which the eligible 

17 entity also receives a grant under this section, any 

18 non-Federal contribution made by the eligible entity 

19 as part of that Federal assistance program shall be 

20 counted towards the requirement under paragraph 

21 (1). 

22 (3) REDUCED MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

23 Based on the available resources of an eligible enti24 ty, the Secretary may reduce the amount of nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126

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1 Federal contributions required to be provided by the 

2 eligible entity under paragraph (1). 

3 (h) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—An eligible entity re5 ceiving a planning grant shall use funds from the 

6 planning grant to finance activities to help develop 

7 and evaluate a housing policy plan for the area 

8 under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) quantifying existing and projected 

11 housing needs for households of every income 

12 level, including extremely low-income families, 

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

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

15 (B) documenting the characteristics of— 

16 (i) the housing in the area; 

17 (ii) the households of the area, includ18 ing cost-burdened households; and 

19 (iii) housing underproduction in the 

20 area; 

21 (C) developing strategies to increase the 

22 housing supply and the variety of housing types 

23 in the area to satisfy the housing needs of the 

24 population of the area; 


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1 (D) analyzing population and employment 

2 trends in the area and documenting projections 

3 of those trends; 

4 (E) considering strategies to minimize dis5 placement of low-income families, as defined in 

6 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act 

7 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)), as a result of re8 development in the area; 

9 (F) providing for participation and input 

10 from community members, community groups, 

11 local builders, local realtors, nonprofit housing 

12 advocates, and local religious groups; and 

13 (G) creating a schedule of programs and 

14 actions to implement the recommendations of 

15 the housing policy plan, including a plan for 

16 adopting actions through a local implementing 

17 ordinance or another regulatory process, such 

18 as a land use plan or a comprehensive plan. 

19 (2) IMPLEMENTATION AND PLANNING

20 GRANTS.—An eligible entity receiving a grant under 

21 this section shall use a portion of the funds from the 

22 grant to submit the report required under subsection 

23 (j)(1). 

24 (i) LEARNING NETWORK.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date on which the Secretary awards the first 

3 planning grant or implementation grant under this 

4 section, the Secretary shall establish a learning net5 work to— 

6 (A) facilitate problem-solving relating to 

7 the development and implementation of housing 

8 policy plans; and 

9 (B) disseminate best practices and effec10 tive strategies and policies to improve local 

11 housing supply and affordability. 

12 (2) ACCESSIBILITY.—The learning network es13 tablished under paragraph (1) shall be accessible 

14 to— 

15 (A) eligible entities that receive a grant 

16 under this section; and 

17 (B) eligible entities that submit an applica18 tion under subsection (e). 

19 (j) REPORTS AND STUDY.— 

20 (1) GRANT RECIPIENT REPORTS.—Not later 

21 than 180 days after the date on which an eligible en22 tity receives a grant under this section, and not less 

23 frequently than quarterly thereafter for a 3-year pe24 riod, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 

25 a report that includes— 


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1 (A) a description of the expenditures the 

2 eligible entity has made with funds from the 

3 grant; 

4 (B) for an eligible entity receiving a plan5 ning grant, a summary of the progress of the 

6 eligibility entity towards finalizing a housing 

7 policy plan; and 

8 (C) for an eligible entity receiving an im9 plementation grant, data relating to the success 

10 of the implementation of the housing policy 

11 plan of the eligible entity. 

12 (2) SECRETARY STUDY AND REPORT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec15 retary shall conduct a study on— 

16 (i) the impact of implementation 

17 grants and planning grants on the areas 

18 under the jurisdiction of eligible entities re19 ceiving those grants; and 

20 (ii) successful strategies from housing 

21 policy plans that were impactful in— 

22 (I) expanding the housing supply; 

23 and 

24 (II) increasing the quantity of 

25 quality and affordable housing, while 


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1 avoiding the displacement of the resi2 dents of an area. 

3 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date on which the Secretary completes the 

5 study required under subparagraph (A), the 

6 Secretary shall submit to the appropriate com7 mittees of Congress a report on the study. 

8 (k) APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

10 appropriated, and there are appropriated, to the 

11 Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury not 

12 otherwise appropriated, $300,000,000 for each of 

13 fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this 

14 Act. 

15 (2) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided 

17 by this section are designated as an emergency 

18 requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the 

19 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 

20 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

21 (B) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the 

22 Senate, this section is designated as an emer23 gency requirement pursuant to section 4112(a) 

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1 current resolution on the budget for fiscal year 

2 2018. 

Æ 


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