Senators Kim and Rounds Introduce Legislation to Build More Housing and Lower Costs for American Families

July 23, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), both members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, introduced bipartisan legislation to address the critical shortage of housing across the country and create more affordable paths to owning a home for more Americans. Together the Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act and the BUILD Housing Act (Better Use of Intergovernmental & Local Development for Housing Act) would modernize the federal housing review process to responsibly increase housing production and boost overall supply, and lower cost. 

We have a housing crisis in this country and it’s holding too many back from achieving the American dream,” said Senator Kim. “I see this all the time in my home state. Families who just want the security of a roof over their head that’s theirs; something they can pass down to the next generation. These bills won’t solve all the problems, but they’ll help make sure we’re building more and faster to increase opportunities and lower costs. These aren’t just Democratic or Republican problems and they’ll require both parties working together. It’s why I’m proud to work with Senator Rounds to collaborate on these solutions and look forward to working to get them passed in committee and onto the Senate Floor.”  

“Too often, Washington demands paperwork for the sake of paperwork. Many Department of Housing & Urban Development-funded activities have no real environmental impact, yet communities are forced to waste time and taxpayer dollars proving it,” said Senator Rounds. “I have heard consistently from housing professionals in South Dakota that this kind of red tape delays housing and drives up costs. That’s why Senator Kim and I introduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation to cut through the bureaucracy and help communities focus on building homes instead of filling out forms. I want everyone in America to be able to achieve the American dream of owning a home, and this bill gets us one step closer by creating more housing and lowering costs.” 

The bills aim to address the housing affordability crisis by making it faster and more efficient to rehabilitate existing buildings and start construction for new residential properties, as well as modernize regulations. Nationwide, there is a shortage of more than 7 million affordable homes for low-income families, with more than 70% of low-income families paying more than half their income on rent. 

New Jersey faces a severe housing shortage, short 220,000 affordable housing units for low-income renters with 1 in 4 New Jerseyans spending over 50% of their income on rent. At the same time, New Jersey is one of the slowest states in the nation to approve new housing projects, in some cases taking 5-7 years to approve new housing projects and start construction. South Dakota ranks as the second most affordable state in the nation and yet, more than 18% of renters are spending over half their income on rent, a clear sign that housing challenges persist and federal red tape contributes to higher costs.  

The Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act would modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process for housing projects/services funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including by: 

  • Modernizing the NEPA review process by reclassifying certain HUD-funded housing projects to be subject to more pragmatic and tailored environmental review frameworks. 
  • Speeds up critical repairs and safety improvements for homeowners by streamlining and modernizing outdated review requirements.  
  • Removes roadblocks to converting vacant office space, building infill housing, and revitalizing existing homes—so communities can build more housing, faster. 

This bipartisan bill is also being introduced in the House of Representatives by members of the House Committee on Financial Services, Congressman Mike Flood (R-NB-01), Chair of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, and Congressman Sam Liccardo (D-CA-16). Text of the legislation is available HERE and is endorsed by New Jersey Fair Share Housing, Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey, Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), National Neighborworks Association, Mortage Bankers Association, National Council of State Housing Agencies, Housing Assistance Council, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, American Planning Association, National Affordable Housing Management Association, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, Up for Growth, Inclusive Abundance Initiative, and Habitat for Humanity International. 

The BUILD Housing Act aims to modernize the NEPA review process by increasing capacity sharing between HUD and states and localities, including by: 

  • Bringing HUD standards in line with other agencies by giving it authority to delegate and coordinate with some housing reviews for HUD grant programs to states and localities. 
  • Giving HUD more flexibility in the review process by allowing the agency to designate housing assistance as “special project funds.” 

Text of the legislation is available HERE and is endorsed by New Jersey Fair Share Housing, Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey, Enterprise Community Partners, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), National Neighborworks Association, Mortage Bankers Association, National Council of State Housing Agencies, Housing Assistance Council, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, American Planning Association, National Affordable Housing Management Association, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, Up for Growth, and Inclusive Abundance Initiative. 

“We’re grateful for Senator Kim’s leadership in advancing these common-sense reforms that will make it easier to build and preserve the affordable homes our communities urgently need,” said Adam Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Share Housing Center.  “These bills are important steps toward modernizing outdated processes that have too often slowed down housing construction and rehabilitation.” 

“The National NeighborWorks Association, representing nearly 250 NeighborWorks organizations nationwide, strongly supports Senator Kim’s leadership in advancing commonsense reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act,” said Lou Tisler, Executive Director of National NeighborWorks Association. “These thoughtful and balanced bills will streamline the environmental review process, protect our environment, and accelerate the development of much-needed housing across the country. Senator Kim’s proposals align with our members’ missions to expand access to safe, affordable housing while being responsible stewards of the environment.” 

“Our country is facing a nationwide housing affordability crisis, driven in large part by the acute shortage of available, affordable homes. BPC Action applauds the work of Sens. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) in introducing the Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Review Act and the BUILD Housing Act, bills that aim to streamline certain regulatory requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act that can delay and add costs to the development of HUD-assisted housing. By excluding activities and projects without an environmental impact, like infill housing, from more stringent reviews and expanding HUD’s NEPA delegation authorities, these bills will speed the delivery of needed affordable rental homes,” said Michele Stockwell, President of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action). 

“The Local Initiatives Support Corporation is proud to support legislation introduced by Senators Kim and Rounds to streamline federal environmental reviews for affordable housing properties. Environmental reviews are an important tool for ensuring that development projects don’t negatively impact the environment or cause adverse health problems. The practice of conducting them though can be improved by exempting activities which don’t have a material impact on the environment or are redundant to previous reviews. We applaud Senators Kim and Rounds for this legislation, since it will ultimately reduce the time and cost to develop affordable housing, while ensuring important environmental safeguards,” said Matt Josephs, Senior Vice President for Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation

“The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) strongly supports the bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Kim and Rounds to streamline environmental reviews and accelerate the delivery of critical affordable housing supply. These bills offer common-sense, urgently needed reforms. By expanding HUD’s authority to classify more housing activities as categorically excluded or exempt under NEPA, and by enabling capacity-sharing and delegation of environmental reviews across HUD programs, these measures will remove unnecessary bottlenecks that delay affordable housing development. Together, these bipartisan efforts will modernize outdated regulatory processes, improve interagency consistency, and accelerate the development of much-needed affordable housing across the country. We commend Senators Kim and Rounds for their leadership and urge swift congressional action on these pragmatic solutions,” Kris Cook, CAE, Chief Executive Officer of the National Affordable Housing Management Association. 

“As planners work to improve regulatory processes and meet the growing need for increased housing supply, our communities need federal support to eliminate barriers. These bills will help to streamline environmental review processes allowing communities to build more housing, faster. APA is proud to support this legislation which will boost housing affordability while maintaining environmental protections. Thank you to Senator Kim and Senator Rounds for your leadership on this important legislative effort,” said American Planning Association President Sue Schwartz, FAICP. 

“Complex, overlapping, and duplicative regulations disproportionately impact rural communities, who often lack the local capacity to navigate the maze of affordable housing regulations that come with federal funding. So we applaud Sen. Kim and Sen. Rounds for their bipartisan work to streamline HUD environmental requirements — ultimately empowering communities to move more quickly in addressing the housing supply crisis,” said David Lipsetz, President and CEO of the Housing Assistance Council. “At a time when many rural places are dealing with a staggering affordability crisis and limited new housing supply, these bills would cut red tape and make it easier for rural places to effectively use HUD funds.” 

“Enterprise Community Partners applauds Senator Rounds and Senator Kim for their bipartisan leadership in advancing thoughtful and targeted solutions to help address the nation’s housing supply crisis,” said Liz Osborn, Vice President of Policy at Enterprise. “These bills will accelerate the development of urgently needed affordable homes by creating an effective regulatory system that strikes the right balance between building homes quickly and maintaining essential protections. We look forward to working with Congress to help move this legislation forward and ensure that more Americans have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.” 

“America is facing a severe housing shortage that is driving up costs for everyone and putting homeownership out of reach for millions of families. We applaud Senators Kim and Rounds for their bipartisan leadership to exempt HUD-funded projects from unnecessary NEPA reviews. Their common-sense reforms will help communities build more housing, faster. Inclusive Abundance Action is proud to support this effort to make housing abundance a reality,” said Derek Kaufman, CEO, Inclusive Abundance Action 

“America’s housing shortage is exacerbated by lengthy environmental review processes that delay construction and drive up housing costs,” said Mike Kingsella, CEO of Up for Growth Action. “The NEPA modernization legislation introduced by Senators Andy Kim and Mike Rounds streamlines these reviews, removing unnecessary barriers without undermining critical environmental protections. We applaud this responsible, bipartisan approach that will accelerate housing production, reduce costs, and ensure more Americans — especially first-time homebuyers — can access affordable homes.” 

“Our nation is in the middle of an historic affordable housing crisis, and we need to build and preserve as many homes as possible. NAHRO appreciates the leadership of Senator Rounds and Senator Kim in helping to increase the affordable housing supply. Environmental reviews play a vital role in safeguarding our communities and environment. But too often, the current process becomes burdensome and duplicative—delaying projects that would provide desperately needed affordable homes. By streamlining the review process, this legislation will help ensure that affordable housing projects can move forward efficiently and effectively without compromising environmental protections,” said National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) CEO Mark Thiele.

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