WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) voted to pass the bipartisan 21stCentury ROAD to Housing Act, including a number of provisions he championed to address the critical shortage of housing and create more affordable paths to owning a home. As a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Kim worked to advance what is the largest housing package to move forward in Congress in decades and deliver common-sense solutions for New Jersey.
“In my home state, one in four people are spending upwards of 50% of their income or more on housing. This is our reality, and the reality we’re passing on to our kids and grandkids. That’s why I’ve been fighting to solve this problem with a series of housing bills that just passed the Senate. The legislation I’ve introduced will right size red tape, speed up the permitting process so housing projects can get to construction much faster, and unlock opportunities for housing that’s actually affordable for working families,” outlined Senator Kim.
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Senator Kim continued: “For people back home in New Jersey, my legislation will make it so that towns across our state can use their CDBG funding for constructing new affordable housing units. This is something mayors across New Jersey have been fighting for decades, and I’m proud to have finally delivered this…It’s time we come together to get this bipartisan legislation over the finish line and build a better future with more affordable housing for the next generation.”
Yesterday, Senator Kim delivered remarks on the Senate floor in support of the legislative package and outlined key provisions he championed in the 21stCentury ROAD to Housing Act, including:
- The BUILD Housing Act to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process by cutting red tape around environmental reviews, empowering state, local, and tribal governments to streamline reviews, and increasing housing development via capacity sharing between the Department of Housing & Urban Development and states and localities.
- The Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act to right-size National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) reviews for small scale housing projects, which will simplify the review process and get projects to construction faster.
- The Community Investment and Prosperity Act to increase private investment in affordable housing and other community development projects across the country by increasing a statutory cap limiting banks’ investments in housing investments.
- The Unleashing Needed Local Options to Construct and Keep Housing Act (UNLOCK Housing Act)to allow municipalities, for the first time, to use CDBG funding for the construction of new housing.
- Authorizing an Innovation Fund to offer highly flexible funding for communities that are building more housing supply, which can be used to improve community infrastructure and build housing.
- The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (CDBG-DR) to permanently authorize the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and establish the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to administer the program.
- The HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Reform Act to reform and reauthorize the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and make critical updates to improve program administration and facilitate the construction of more affordable housing.
- The Appraisal Modernization Act to require the United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Housing Administration, and Federal Housing Finance Agency to implement and maintain requirements that federally backed mortgage lenders have a review and resolution procedure for consumer-initiated second appraisals, or reconsiderations of value, when they believe there may be an issue with their appraised home value.
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