The U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance recently held a hearing titled “HOME 2.0: Modern Solutions to the Housing Shortage,” dissecting the government’s largest block grant program dedicated to creating affordable housing for low-income Americans.
The HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program, originally authorized under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and provides formula-based funding to states and localities to build, rehabilitate, or preserve affordable rental and ownership housing.
Since its formation, the program has been reauthorized only once, in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992. Since its last reauthorization more than 30 years ago, the HOME Program’s efficacy has eroded as it has failed to keep pace with the nation’s current housing realities.
As a result, the HOME Program’s ability to spur the development of critically new housing units has diminished. Several stakeholders, including local governments and housing developers, have cited regulatory inefficiencies in the use of HOME Program dollars that lead to delayed projects and poor outcomes in many jurisdictions. During the “HOME 2.0: Modern Solutions to the Housing Shortage” hearing, Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chair Rep. Mike Flood and Ranking Member Rep. Emanuel Cleaver invited a panel of experts to explore bipartisan proposals to modernize the HOME Program to ensure it works more effectively for communities, developers, and taxpayers through the “HOME Reform Act of 2025.”
“Over the past six months, I’ve been grateful to work with Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver to listen to stakeholder feedback in the hopes of ultimately reforming the HOME Investment Partnership Program in the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Rep. Flood. “Wednesday’s hearing marks a key milestone in our efforts to promote a pro-market, pro-growth solution to our country’s housing crisis. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses who bring broad experience and perspectives as we continue to gather feedback and look to grow this underutilized tool in solving America’s housing crisis.”
Among those delivering testimony before the Committee were Alison George, Director, Colorado Division of Housing, Department of Local Affairs, on behalf of the Council of State Community Development Agencies (COSCDA) as Board President; Eric Oberdorfer, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO); Ellen Woodward Potts, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa, on behalf of Habitat for Humanity International; and Tiffany Bohee, President of Mercy Housing California.
The legislation proposed, the “HOME Reform Act of 2025,” seeks to amend the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to encourage expansion of the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing, with a focus on rental housing.
In addition to the hearing, Rep. Flood recently took to LinkedIn to discuss some of the highlights of the “HOME Reform Act of 2025,” including:
Representative Flood summarized the bill in a LinkedIn post with key modifications, including:
- Broader income eligibility
- Expanding potential tenant pools from “low-income families” (up to 80% AMI) by adding “workforce-income families” (up to 100% of AMI) to eligible populations
- Faster, simpler compliance
- If a project includes fewer than 50 units using HOME funds, it is now exempt from Davis-Bacon wage requirements and Section 3 hiring mandates—a significant increase from the previous 12-unit threshold
- Streamlined environmental reviews
- Prevention of a second review due to the addition or subtraction of other sources of federal assistance to a project
- NEPA exemptions for infill, rehab, or small new construction (if less than 20 units use HOME funds in the project)
- Areas that do not receive assistance from CDBG grants can now use HOME funds to pay for infrastructure, such as roads, water/sewer lines, and utility hookups next to HOME or LIHTC projects.
- Local governments will not be restricted in choosing between rehabilitation, new construction, or other eligible uses of HOME funds unless federal law specifically limits it
- Local governments will have 36 months (instead of 24) to use HOME Funds before they expire
- Unused Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) set-asides can be reallocated without CHDO involvement after three years
- Units occupied by Section 8 voucher holders are considered affordable housing as long as rent and contributions align with PHA guidelines
- HOME homeownership cap raised from 95% to 110% of median price
- Allows shared equity models (e.g., land trusts, limited equity co-ops) to maintain long-term affordability
Click here for more on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing, “HOME 2.0: Modern Solutions to the Housing Shortage.”
