Counties Celebrate House Passage of Housing for the 21st Century Act

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Counties (NACo) celebrates the passage of the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644) in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 390-9.

This NACo-endorsed legislation represents the most significant federal investment in housing in over a decade and marks an important step forward in addressing the nation’s housing affordability crisis. The bill provides critical support for community housing programs, including the Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) program and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Strategic expansions of HOME will help counties better address gaps in workforce-level housing and housing-adjacent infrastructure. Meanwhile, authorizing new unit construction under CDBG gives counties an additional resource to grow our housing supply. The legislation also establishes a regional development grant program to support locally driven reforms and provide counties with flexibility in how housing strategies are developed and implemented.

“Counties are critical front-line partners to the federal government in addressing the nation’s housing affordability crisis,” said Matthew Chase, Executive Director of the National Association of Counties. “The Housing for the 21st Century Act recognizes this vital intergovernmental partnership, by expanding program versatility, reducing administrative barriers and empowering counties to develop local housing solutions tailored to the unique needs of our communities. Counties thank Chair Hill, Ranking Member Waters, Rep. Flood and Rep. Cleaver for their bipartisan leadership, and applaud the House’s passage of this landmark legislation.”

NACo encourages Congress to continue its bipartisan work to address housing affordability as the legislative process moves forward. As the House and Senate work toward a final package, NACo urges lawmakers to preserve the core principles reflected in H.R. 6644 — flexibility, local partnership and scalable tools that enable counties to expand housing supply and infrastructure in ways that meet local needs.

For more information about counties and the Housing 21st Century Act, click here.