SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT REGARDING OPTIMIZING USE OF 
AREA MEDIAN INCOME TO SUPPORT AFFORD-
ABLE HOUSING IN MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 
study designed to— 
(1) identify— 
(A) alternative methods for calculating 
area median income; and 
(B) alternative metrics that would make 
housing more affordable for low-income families 
residing in mountain communities; and 
(2) evaluate how factoring roommates into area 
median income calculations for seasonal workers 
would impact housing assistance. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development shall, not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit 
to the Committee on Financial Services of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and 
make publicly available, a report that describes the 
findings of the study conducted pursuant to sub-
section (a). 
(2) REPORT CONTENTS.—The report submitted 
pursuant to subparagraph (1) shall include— 
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(A) a summary of all significant findings; 
(B) recommendations found in any prior 
reports about the use of area median income; 
(C) an assessment of the extent and im-
pacts of the affordable housing crisis in moun-
tain communities nationwide, particularly with-
in jurisdictions for which the Secretary has ap-
plied a high housing cost adjustment, including 
a comparison of rent burdens for very low-in-
come households and seasonal workers in juris-
dictions with and without high housing cost ad-
justments; 
(D) an assessment of the effects that high 
housing cost adjustments have had on income 
limits and rent prices in mountain communities 
for which the Secretary has applied such an ad-
justment, including any effects on maximum 
rents allowed under sections 42 and 142 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for tax-sub-
sidized units; 
(E) recommendations for reforming or 
eliminating the use of area median income for 
the purposes of making housing more afford-
able for low-income and seasonal workers in 
mountain communities; and 
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(F) recommendations for using existing 
authorities of the Secretary to make housing 
more affordable for low-income and seasonal 
workers in mountain communities, particularly 
in areas for which the Secretary has applied a 
high housing cost adjustment. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AREA MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘‘area 
median income’’ means median income for an area, 
as such term is used in section 3(b) of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)), 
median family income, and any other substantively 
similar metric that the Secretary uses to refer to the 
median income level for a given area or jurisdiction 
for purposes of any program administered by the 
Secretary. 
(2) HIGH HOUSING COST ADJUSTMENT.—The 
term ‘‘high housing cost adjustment’’ is an adjust-
ment for high housing costs, high construction costs, 
or high costs of living, or any substantively similar 
adjustment that the Secretary may use to increase 
income limits for areas where the cost of housing is 
abnormally high compared to the median income for 
such area. 
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(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
(4) 
MOUNTAIN
COMMUNITIES.—The 
term 
‘‘mountain communities’’ means any rural area, as 
defined in section 1490 of title 42, United States 
Code, located in the Mountain Division within the 
Census Bureau’s Western Region. 
Æ 
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