$2,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 
through 2029. 
(2) LIMITATION.—Any amounts appropriated 
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be used only for as-
sistance to be used within any area within a unit of 
general local government for which the Secretary has 
applied, or would have applied prior to the enact-
ment of this Act, a high housing cost adjustment. 
SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT REGARDING OPTIMIZING USE OF 
AREA MEDIAN INCOME TO SUPPORT AFFORD-
ABLE HOUSING IN URBAN AREAS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT
OF ALTERNATIVE CALCULATION 
METHODS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall commence an 
assessment of alternative methods for calculating area me-
dian income, and the use of alternative metrics, for pro-
grams administered by the Secretary that would make 
housing more affordable for low-income families residing 
in urban areas nationwide, which shall include analysis of 
the topics identified in subsection (b). 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 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 avail-
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able, a report setting forth the results of the assessment 
conducted pursuant to subsection (a), which shall in-
clude— 
(1) a review and summarization of significant 
findings and recommendations from any related pre-
vious reports regarding area median income; 
(2) an assessment of the extent and impacts of 
the affordable housing crisis in urban areas nation-
wide, particularly within jurisdictions for which the 
Secretary has applied a high housing cost adjust-
ment; 
(3) an analysis and assessment of the effects 
that high housing cost adjustments have had on in-
come limits and rent prices in jurisdictions for which 
the Secretary has applied such an adjustment; 
(4) an assessment of the potential impacts to 
affordable housing, particularly on income limits and 
rent prices, of calculating area median income on a 
zip-code level basis and using other localized meth-
odologies; 
(5) assess and propose a process through which 
State housing authorities may designate area me-
dian income jurisdictions within that State; 
(6) an assessment of alternative metrics to area 
median income for the purposes of setting income 
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levels and related thresholds for affordable housing 
programs administered by the Secretary; 
(7) recommendations for how the Secretary 
could reform or eliminate use of area median income 
for the purposes of making housing more affordable 
for low-income and middle class families in urban 
areas; and 
(8) any further recommendations for how the 
Secretary could make housing more affordable for 
low-income and middle class families in urban areas. 
(c) METHODOLOGY.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate de-
scribing the methodology that will be used to conduct the 
assessment under this section. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
shall apply: 
(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 
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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’’ means an ad-
justment for high housing costs or high construction 
costs, 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, for 
purposes of any program administered by the Sec-
retary. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
Æ 
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