Congressman DeSaulnier announces Housing Crisis bill

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) has announced the introduction of a bill aimed at helping America’s housing crisis. The bill would give incentives to those trying to find innovative and community-specific solutions to housing problems.

The Housing Innovation Act (H.R. 7054) would create a new Office of Housing Innovation at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist local governments in increasing and diversifying the housing supply, and creates grants to help communities plan for new housing.

Super-commutes take a toll

“The high cost of living, especially in the Bay Area, has forced families to move further and further away from their workplace. The resulting ‘super-commutes’ have left people spending more time in traffic than with their families,” said DeSaulnier. “The Housing Innovation Act helps incentivize communities to develop innovative solutions to the housing crisis.”

Since 1960, renters’ median earnings have increased by only five percent while rents have spiked 61 percent. At the same time, while homeowners earn 50 percent more than in 1960, home prices have skyrocketed by 112 percent. In the Bay Area, the average rent reached more than $2,500 in 2016, and approximately half of renters were severely cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.

Innovation Grants

Under this bill, the new Office of Housing Innovation will administer three types of grants:

• Developing Local Housing Plans: For local housing plans that expand and diversify the housing supply, improve affordability, and reduce congestion.
• Furthering Research and Pilot Projects: For research and pilot projects led by partnerships involving at least one government, university, or nonprofit organization to explore improving the “first mile” and “last mile” commuting experience, housing college students, facilitating home sharing for elderly residents, integrating business and commercial activity with residential neighborhoods, and studying modular building techniques or other approaches to reducing housing costs.
• Improving Public Discussion: Grants for education activities to fund partnerships with at least one academic institution to further public discussion and education on housing and community development.

Congressman DeSaulnier first introduced the Housing Innovation Act in October of 2018. For more information, go to desaulnier.house.gov