I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2974 
To establish a Federal Interagency Council on Housing Affordability and 
Preservation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2023 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CAR-
TER of Louisiana, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, and Ms. 
ROSS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To establish a Federal Interagency Council on Housing 
Affordability and Preservation, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interagency Council 
on Affordable Housing Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 
There is established in the executive branch an inde-
pendent establishment to be known as the United States 
Interagency Council on Housing Affordability and Preser-
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vation, whose mission shall be to develop Federal policy 
designed to preserve and increase affordable housing sup-
ply and increase fairness in the rental market and further 
the principles of fair housing and create a national part-
nership at every level of government and with the private 
sector to carry out such purposes. 
SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP. 
(a) MEMBERS.—The Council shall be composed of 
the heads of the following agencies or offices, or the des-
ignee of such agency or office head: 
(1) Department of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment. 
(2) Department of Justice. 
(3) Department of Labor. 
(4) Department of the Treasury. 
(5) Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 
(6) Department of Health and Human Services. 
(7) Department of Education. 
(8) Department of Veterans Affairs. 
(9) Department of Agriculture. 
(10) Department of Commerce. 
(11) Department of Defense. 
(12) Department of Energy. 
(13) Department of Homeland Security. 
(14) Department of Interior. 
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(15) Department of Transportation. 
(16) Corporation for National and Community 
Service. 
(17) General Services Administration. 
(18) Office of Management and Budget. 
(19) Social Security Administration. 
(20) United States Postal Service. 
(21) White House Office on Faith-Based and 
Neighborhood Partnerships. 
(b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Council shall elect a Chair-
person and a Vice Chairperson from among its members. 
The positions of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall 
rotate among its members on an annual basis. 
(c) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the call 
of its Chairperson or a majority of its members, but not 
less often than four times each year, and the rotation of 
the positions of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson re-
quired under subsection (b) shall occur at the first meet-
ing of each year. 
(d) PROHIBITION OF ADDITIONAL PAY.—Members of 
the Council shall receive no additional pay, allowances, or 
benefits by reason of their service on the Council. 
(e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Executive Director of 
the Council shall report to the Chairman of the Council. 
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SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS. 
(a) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 
(1) not later than 12 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, develop, make available 
for public comment, and submit to the President 
and to the Congress a National Strategic Plan to 
Preserve Affordable Housing, and shall update such 
plan annually; 
(2) review all Federal activities and programs 
relating to public housing, affordable housing pro-
duction, affordable housing programs, and housing 
voucher programs; 
(3) monitor, evaluate, and recommend improve-
ments in programs and activities to assist affordable 
housing production conducted by Federal agencies, 
State and local governments, and private voluntary 
organizations; 
(4) provide professional and technical assistance 
(by not less than 5, but in no case more than 10, 
regional coordinators employed by the Council, each 
having responsibility for interaction and coordination 
of the activities of the Council within the 10 stand-
ard Federal regions) to States, local governments, 
and other public and private nonprofit organizations, 
in order to enable such governments and organiza-
tions to— 
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(A) interpret regulations and assist in the 
application process for Federal assistance, in-
cluding grants; 
(B) provide assistance on the ways in 
which Federal programs may best be coordi-
nated to complement the objectives of this Act; 
(C) develop recommendations and program 
ideas based on regional specific issues in serv-
ing homeless and low-income populations; and 
(D) establish a schedule for biennial re-
gional workshops to be held by the Council in 
each of the 10 standard Federal regions to fur-
ther carry out and provide the assistance de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) and 
other appropriate assistance as necessary; 
(5) encourage the creation of State Interagency 
Councils on Affordable Housing and the formulation 
of jurisdictional 10-year plans to end homelessness 
at State, city, and county levels; 
(6) annually obtain from Federal agencies their 
identification of consumer-oriented entitlement and 
other resources for which individuals may be eligible 
and the agencies’ identification of improvements to 
ensure access; develop mechanisms to ensure access 
by persons and families to all Federal, State, and 
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