Biden investing $100M to spur housing construction

The Biden administration announced a $100 million investment Tuesday aimed at combating barriers to affordable housing construction.

The funds will be made available via the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program, which offers grants to state and local governments, and other entities, as part of a larger effort “to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation.”

The program, which operates under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), said grantees can use the awards to craft and carry out housing policy plans and facilitate affordable housing production, among other efforts.

HUD acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said Tuesday the competitive grant funding “is designed to cut red tape, and make sure that we’re building more homes, especially affordable homes, with urgency because people need help now.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to reduce housing costs by increasing our nation’s housing supply and our partnerships with local communities are critical to achieving this goal.”

The HUD said the funding was made possible by a sweeping government funding package passed by Congress with bipartisan support earlier this year. The legislation provided upwards of $70 billion in funding for the agency for the fiscal year ending in late September.

Vice President Harris previously announced the program’s first batch of grantees in June. At the time, the administration said it would be providing over 20 cities and states with $85 million to tackle affordable housing barriers. 

Marion McFadden, principal deputy assistant secretary for community planning and development, said in a statement that communities that were awarded the funding “are already doing incredible work to modernize local policies, invest in communities, and build more homes.”

McFadden said the second round of the competition prioritizes “communities with acute need for affordable housing that have already demonstrated a commitment to overcoming local barriers, primarily by having enacted improved laws and regulations.”

The administration announced additional steps on Tuesday as part of what it dubbed its “Housing Supply Action Plan,” including changes to the Federal Financing Bank Multifamily Risk Sharing Program, measures aimed at “streamlining requirements for transit-oriented development projects,” and a $250 million effort aimed at “challenging communities to use Section 108 to build housing.”

Some polling has signaled housing affordability could be a key issue for voters ahead of the pivotal November elections.

In June, a survey conducted by real estate company Redfin showed that 91 percent of Gen Z adults saw housing affordability as an important election issue.