The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Housing and Insurance Subcommittee held a hearing to examine bipartisan proposals to modernize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, with draft legislation aimed at lowering project costs and accelerating delivery of affordable housing. HOME, created in 1990, provides block grant funding to states and municipalities to build and rehabilitate affordable housing and is often used as gap financing alongside the low-income housing tax credit. Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood highlighted four recurring cost and delay drivers raised by stakeholders: environmental review requirements, Build America Buy America requirements affecting construction materials, Davis-Bacon requirements and associated reporting burdens, and Section 3 requirements that can complicate contractor sourcing, particularly in rural areas. The draft also seeks to give jurisdictions more flexibility to direct funds toward supply-building rather than certain demand-side uses. Flood described the bill as a draft expected to change based on hearing testimony, member input and continued stakeholder feedback, following earlier outreach that generated more than 140 comment letters and subsequent meetings with stakeholders.
U.S. Financial Services Committee 2025-07-16
U.S. House Financial Services Committee holds hearing on draft reforms to HUD’s HOME program to reduce compliance cost drivers and boost housing supply
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Housing and Insurance Subcommittee held a hearing on bipartisan proposals to modernize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program. The draft legislation aims to reduce project costs and expedite affordable housing delivery by addressing cost and delay drivers like environmental reviews and construction material requirements. The bill is expected to evolve based on testimony, member input, and stakeholder feedback.