Biden Administration Announces Progress in Implementing Housing Supply Action Plan
Originally published on October 7, 2022, by the White House.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing key progress on implementing its Housing Supply Action Plan, which in May outlined a set of administrative and legislative priorities aimed at closing the housing supply shortfall in five years. The President believes that policies that boost the supply of affordable housing are critical to easing the burden of rising housing costs for renters and aspiring homeowners, and must be taken in combination with actions that address near-term housing affordability and promote fair housing.
The rising costs of housing, including extraordinary rent increases for many tenants, make it more challenging for Americans to afford other essentials like food, transportation, and health care. To close the supply gap and expand housing affordability, the Administration continues to urge Congress to act on a bipartisan basis to support the construction and preservation of affordable housing this year. In addition, Congress should expand rental assistance, assist aspiring homeowners with down payment assistance, and help create a more equitable housing market. The Administration also continues to urge state and local governments to reduce needless barriers to housing production, especially restrictive zoning and land use regulations.
In keeping with commitments made in the Housing Supply Action Plan, announced in May, federal agencies have taken action to reduce barriers to building and preserving affordable housing, including a set of new actions that the Administration is announcing today. At the same time, the Administration has acted where it can to directly address affordability, including for low-income renters. For example, just last week the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the awarding of more than 19,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers – the most expansive allocation of flexible new rental assistance in 20 years.