HousingWireHousingWire
A bipartisan duo of lawmakers in the Senate recently reintroduced a bill they previously collaborated on in 2023, aiming to bolster affordable housing programs and accessibility in rural areas.
Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are calling the bill the most sweeping reform to the federal Rural Housing Service (RHS) in decades. They said the bill — known as the Rural Housing Service Reform Act — would offer “loans, grants and rental assistance to rural communities across the country.”
Between 2010 and 2020, rural parts of the U.S. saw only a 1.7% increase in the number of available housing units. Almost half of all states actually saw a decrease in the number of available units during the same period, and properties previously financed by RHS in past decades are at risk of being lost.
“Improving homeownership opportunities, particularly in rural areas, is critical for the wellbeing of South Dakota families,” Rounds said in a statement. “The Rural Housing Service Reform Act would streamline federal programs and remove barriers to homeownership, making this dream a reality for more South Dakotans.”
The bill would serve to preserve existing affordable housing stock and rental assistance programs in rural areas, Rounds added. He said he looks forward to working with Smith and other colleagues to address affordable housing challenges.
Smith added that the general housing shortage being felt across the country has the potential to hit rural communities harder than their more populated counterparts. She said the reintroduction of the bill indicates that Democrats and Republicans are aligned in trying to find solutions.
“This legislation is the direct result of bipartisan hearings and conversations with stakeholders who helped identify ways we can make federal rural housing programs work better for people struggling to find a safe, affordable place to live,” Smith said.
When introducing the first version of the bill in 2023, Rounds and Smith did not have any co-sponsors and it did not progress beyond a referral to the Senate banking committee. This time, however, the bill boasts nine co-sponsors across both parties.
These include Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
Lakota Vogel, executive director of Four Bands Community Fund in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, and a board member of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition, said the bill is necessary to spur the addition of new inventory and lower the cost of housing.
“The demand for rural housing in South Dakota remains high. In order to keep the costs of building single-family homes affordable, we need this legislation,” Vogel said. “It cuts through the red tape and encourages public private partnerships to increase investment in our state’s/nations’ rural housing supply.”
The bill was again referred to the Senate banking committee on April 2.
Lawmakers have become active in recent weeks to introduce new housing legislation. These include the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA), the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, the Housing Supply Frameworks Act and the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act.
