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Vice President Kamala Harris and Department of Housing and Urban
Development Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said the awards
from HUD's initial Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) to
Housing program would help update state and local housing plans,
revise land use policies and streamline the permitting process
for new developments.
HUD's PRO Housing program was created in the fiscal 2023
appropriations bill and the awards were timed with an
administration push this week to show that President Joe Biden
is taking action to address high housing costs that have become
a major concern for younger voters.
A chronic shortage of housing is continuing to drive up rentals
and lingering consumer price inflation, contributing to a delay
in Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
"This investment is part of a larger strategy to lower rents and
help more Americans buy a home," Harris told reporters in
announcing the grants. "President Biden and I have proposed a
national housing plan to build 2 million units of affordable
housing."
On Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that
$100 million in revenue from COVID-era community lending
investments would be diverted to a new affordable housing
financing fund.
The awards include a wide swathe of U.S. cities, including $6.7
million for Los Angeles County, $6.6 million for the state of
Hawaii, and $2.5 million for Ketchum, Idaho.
Harris said a $2.1 million award to Milwaukee would help the
city provide subsidies to builders to help them more easily
develop vacant lots and abandoned buildings. A $4.5 million
grant to Denver would help provide low cost loans to housing
developers to make connections to utilities.
More than 175 communities had applied for the funds, and Harris
said the Biden administration will release another $100 million
worth of grants later this summer. Biden has requested another
$100 million as part of his proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal
year, which starts on Oct. 1.
Harris and Yellen also this week called on Congress to pass
Biden's proposed $10,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers
and a $25,000 equity grant for first-generation home buyers in
disadvantaged families. The proposals have languished in the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Miral Fahmy)
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