NAAHL Applauds Senate Passage of Critical Housing and Community Development Provisions in NDAA

Today, the Senate passed landmark housing and community development legislation to address the housing supply shortage and support CDFIs in serving underserved markets. The Senate passed the ROAD to Housing Act and a compilation of CDFI legislation as amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a must-pass annual military authorization bill.

Housing Supply Package. Led by Senators Scott and Warren, the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act passed the Senate Banking Committee unanimously in July and includes provisions to expand and preserve housing supply, reduce barriers to housing development, and support additional investment in housing and other community needs. This includes the Community Investment and Prosperity Act, which increases the public welfare investment cap to allow banks to make additional investments that serve their communities. Read NAAHL’s summary of the sweeping, bipartisan package here.

CDFI Enhancements. The Senate-passed NDAA also included a package of CDFI legislation put forward by Senators Daines and Warner. That package included:

• The CDFI Fund Transparency Act, which requires annual testimony on the operations of the CDFI Fund.

• The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act, which reduces the minimum loan size for the program and makes other improvements to its operations.

• The Scaling Community Lenders Act, which would support a secondary market for CDFI loans to help enhance their capacity to provide access capital in their communities. 

• Enactment and expansion of the Native CDFI Relending Program at USDA, which provides low-interest loans through USDA’s 502 Direct Lending Program to Native CDFIs to relend for low-cost home mortgages to members of an Indian Tribe, an Alaska Native community, or a Native Hawaiian community, and on Tribal land.

“The housing supply and CDFI amendments passed as part of the NDAA are critical steps to address our nation’s affordable housing shortage and expand economic opportunity throughout the country,” said NAAHL President & CEO Sarah Brundage. “Through updates to support additional housing construction and preservation, as well as private investment in housing and other community development needs, the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act and CDFI legislation that passed the Senate today will play an essential role in boosting our nation’s housing supply and supporting our nation’s rural, Tribal, and lower- and moderate-income communities. NAAHL applauds Senate Majority Leader Thune and Minority Leader Schumer, Armed Services Committee Chair Wicker and Ranking Member Reed, Senate Banking Committee Chair Scott and Ranking Member Warren, and Senators Daines and Warner for their work to advance this landmark legislation.”

What’s Next? The House passed its version of NDAA earlier this year. The House and Senate will now go to conference to resolve differences between their two bills as they work to pass a compromise bill through both chambers before the end of the year. While the House bill did not include the ROAD to Housing Act or CDFI provisions, NAAHL will be working to ensure that vital housing and community development provisions are included in the final NDAA bill.