Senator: legislation is necessary first step, but more action is needed
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued the following statement after the Senate passed bipartisan legislation to address the housing crisis:
“The housing crisis deepens every year in Oregon and across the country, dimming people’s dreams of homeownership and pushing more working-class families onto the street because they can’t afford rent,” Wyden said. “There are some good provisions in this bill, but this crisis demands bolder solutions. I remain committed to getting comprehensive housing legislation across the finish line, like my DASH Act, which would build more housing, and make it easier for middle-class families to buy a home and make housing more affordable across the board.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act:
- Establishes a pilot program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for grants and forgivable loans to low and moderate-income homeowners and qualifying small landlords for home repairs.
- Establishes a HUD-administered grant program to streamline and expedite construction of new housing units.
- Restricts large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, meaning an investor cannot buy, transfer, or acquire a home intended for residential occupancy by a single household.
- Changes the income calculations in the HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program to permanently exclude veterans’ disability compensation from being included in income calculations. This will help place more homeless veterans into VA housing.
- Incentivizes local zoning changes and streamlines local permitting to increase housing supply.
More information about Wyden’s DASH Act is here.
A web version of this release is here.