VIDEO OF SEN. WARNER’S REMARKS AT THE COMMITTEE MARKUP IS AVAILABLE HERE 

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs unanimously voted to advance the Bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act. This legislation, which includes several provisions authored and championed by Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), will take important steps to boost the nation’s housing supply, improve housing affordability, help reduce homelessness, expand access to homeownership, and increase oversight and efficiency of federal regulators and housing programs.

“Everywhere I go in Virginia, I hear from families and local leaders who are struggling with the high cost of housing. I’m proud to see several key proposals that I have authored and championed included in this bipartisan legislation, which will help get more housing built, expand access to homeownership, and make sure federal programs are doing their job effectively. This is a strong step forward in addressing the housing crisis, and I’m glad to see it move out of committee with unanimous support,” said Sen. Warner. 

The legislation includes several Warner-authored or championed provisions, including:

• The RESIDE Act, legislation drafted by Sen. Warner and Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) to create a new pilot program to help communities convert vacant buildings – such as abandoned hotels, warehouses, and strip malls – into affordable homes. The program would operate within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the nation’s largest federal block grant dedicated to affordable housing. It would provide grants to local governments for acquisition, site prep, and rehabilitation of vacant properties, with priority given to communities that reduce regulatory barriers to housing conversion. Since its inception in 1992, the HOME program has invested over $788 million into communities across Virginia – helping build and preserve over 31,000 homes, create over 37,000 jobs and generate $2.4 billion in local income. The RESIDE pilot will allow communities to scale new housing development and test innovative strategies that could ultimately be adopted more broadly within the HOME program. 
• The Housing Supply Frameworks Act, which directs HUD to develop best-practice zoning and land-use frameworks to help localities overcome barriers to new housing development.
• The Whole-Home Repairs Act, which establishes a five-year pilot program offering grants and forgivable loans to help low- and moderate-income homeowners and qualifying small landlords address critical home repairs and health hazards, preserving affordable units and stabilizing aging housing stock.
• The Innovation Fund, which would authorize $800 million to support locally-driven initiatives that expand housing supply and reduce costs.
• The HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act, which reauthorizes and modernizes HUD’s HOME Investments Partnerships Program and makes critical updates to improve the program and facilitate the construction of more affordable housing. 
• The Housing Supply Expansion Act and Modular Housing Production Act, which would expand access to manufactured and modular housing by reducing barriers to construction and financing.
• The Streamlining Rural Housing Act, which directs HUD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to coordinate on joint environmental reviews for housing projects funded by both agencies – helping reduce delays and improve efficiency for rural housing development.
• The Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which enacts critical reforms to the USDA’s Rural Housing Service, including decoupling rental assistance from maturing mortgages to preserve affordable housing in rural areas. If fully implemented, this reform would preserve 243 affordable properties serving more than 10,000 low-income Virginians.
• The Build More Housing Near Transit Act, which amends the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program to allow the agency to give transit projects a higher rating if they are located in areas that adopt policies to encourage more housing construction near public transportation hubs.
• The VA Home Loan Awareness Act and Veterans Affairs Loan Informed Disclosure (VALID) Act to improve financing transparency for veteran homebuyers and help them access potentially more affordable mortgage options.
• The Community Investment and Prosperity Act, which makes some regulatory changes to give banks greater flexibility to invest in affordable housing and community development projects.
• The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, which permanently authorizes the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and establishes a dedicated Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to oversee and streamline disaster housing recovery efforts. 

Today’s committee action builds on Sen. Warner’s longstanding commitment to expanding access to affordable housing and homeownership. In recent months, he has introduced and supported a range of bipartisan bills to spur new housing construction and redevelopment, including theNeighborhood Homes Investment Act, Preserving Rural Housing Investments Act, Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act, the Rural Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act, and the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act. He is also the lead author of the Low-Income First Time Homebuyers (LIFT) Act, which would help qualified first-generation homebuyers build equity in their homes by offering a 20-year mortgage with monthly payments comparable to a traditional 30-year loan. Additionally, Sen. Warner is a cosponsor of theDownpayment Toward Equity Act, which would provide federal grants to help first-generation homebuyers cover down payments, closing costs, and other upfront expenses.

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