Van Hollen Applauds Inclusion of Affordable Housing Provisions in Build Back Better Framework, Including Funding for Housing Mobility Vouchers & First-Time, First-Generation Home-Buying Assistance

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) applauded the inclusion of over $40 billion in affordable housing initiatives within the Build Back Better Framework, including $24 billion to support rental assistance and $300 million for wraparound services to help make it more affordable for families with young children to move to areas of greater opportunity, in line with his bipartisan Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act. The bill also expands access to homeownership with $5 billion to subsidize 20-year mortgages for first-time, first-generation home-buyers, as laid out in his, Senator Warner, and Senator Warnock’s Low-Income First Time Homebuyers Act, and $10 billion for downpayment assistance to provide first-time, first-generation home-buyers with $20,000 or 10% of the purchase price in financial assistance for a downpayment, closing costs, and costs to reduce interest rates, as laid out in the Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2021, which Senator Van Hollen helped introduce. Senator Van Hollen has pushed for the inclusion of these provisions to help first-time homeowners, improve homeownership among Americans of color, and help close the racial wealth gap.  

“For American families, few things are as important as having an affordable place to call home. Whether that means accessing the resources to own a home or helping families move to areas of greater opportunity– ensuring that more Americans are able to achieve these goals is key. That’s why I fought to increase the number of housing vouchers and offer mobility services as well as to provide first-time, first-generation home-buyers with more financial support within the Build Back Better Framework. These elements are essential to our mission to provide more economic opportunity and shared prosperity for all Americans,” said Senator Van Hollen. 

The bill also includes the following investments supported by Senator Van Hollen:

• $10 billion to support transit projects that provide access to affordable housing; improve mobility for low-income riders; and enhance access to jobs, educational opportunities, and community services. This provision mirrors the Public Transportation Expansion Act, which Senator Van Hollen co-authored alongside Senator Ossoff.
• $25 billion for affordable and accessible housing production, including $10 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and $15 billion for activities to support the preservation and creation of new rental homes affordable to the lowest-income households.
• $250 million for the Housing Investment Fund to create a new competitive grant program for CDFIs to increase investment in the development, rehabilitation, financing, or purchase of affordable housing primarily to low- and moderate-income renters and homeowners, as well as related economic and development facilities.
• $500 million for Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly.
• $5 billion to address lead paint remediation and create healthy homes.
• $3 billion for the Community Restoration and Revitalization Fund to create a new competitive grant program for nonprofits to conduct affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization activities in neighborhoods experiencing cycles of blight and abandonment, including $500 million for Community Land Trusts and Shared Equity Homeownership programs.