Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, released a package of housing bills that would invest over $600 billion in the nation’s affordable housing infrastructure, address homelessness by transforming the Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) into a federal entitlement, and authorize $100 billion in targeted downpayment assistance to first-generation homebuyers to purchase their first home.
Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), made the following statement:
“Chair Waters and members of the House Financial Services committee are setting a standard that steps up to the spectrum of housing needs facing the country. This package addresses the supply challenges across the market hampering low- and moderate-income borrowers and communities’ ability to achieve stable and affordable housing. It also helps answer the racial equity challenge of our time, which the Chair and the Biden administration have prioritized addressing, by authorizing targeted downpayment assistance — an important step towards bridging the nation’s homeownership divide.
“We look forward to working with Chairwoman Waters, President Biden and Congress to advance this bold and visionary legislative package to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis and advance racial equity.”
