Washington Recap: June 2026

NAAHL, in partnership with the Center for Affordable Housing Lending, is pleased to provide this monthly recap of the top federal policy developments in affordable housing and community development. NAAHL Members receive breaking policy updates and additional policy resources directly; however, any partner can sign up for NAAHL alerts and the monthly Washington Recap here.

CONGRESS

Congress Passes Landmark Housing Bill

This month, following final negotiations between the House and Senate, the21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed both chambers with overwhelming margins. This landmark housing bill includes a number of provisions aimed at increasing the nation’s affordable housing supply, modernizing federal housing finance programs, and expanding access to affordable homeownership and rental housing.

One of NAAHL’s top policy priorities was included in the bill: increasing banks’ public welfare investment cap, opening up the opportunity for billions of dollars in additional investment in affordable housing and amplifying the impact of the recently enacted expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The legislation also includes provisions to:

• Update and reauthorize the HOME Investment Partnerships program;

• Authorize a Whole-Home Repairs program to preserve existing homes with repair needs;

  Modernize rural housing programs and provide a path to preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable rural units;

• Cut red tape and streamline environmental reviews for homes constructed with funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Agriculture;

• Increase the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) multifamily loan limits, expanding access to affordable financing to support multifamily housing development;

• Provide a three-year authorization of the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, the primary federal program that supports long-term recovery after major disasters; and

• Permanently authorize the PRICE program, which helps maintain manufactured housing communities – an under-appreciated part of our affordable housing stock – as affordable housing.

The legislation reflects sustained, bipartisan, bicameral negotiation, led by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA).

While the legislation was expected to be signed into law on June 24, final enactment is pending. On June 25, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the House would transmit the bill to the White House following a meeting with the President. The timing of the formal transmission remains unclear. If needed, Congress has other paths to enact the bill even without the President's signature.

NAAHL will be closely monitoring progress on this legislation and will provide updates as they are available.

Congress passes Reconciliation 2.0 as Calls for Reconciliation 3.0 Continue

On June 5, the Senate passed the second reconciliation bill of the 119th Congress by a vote of 52-47. The House then approved the measure on June 9 by a vote of 214 to 212, and the President signed the bill into law the following day. This second reconciliation package was relatively narrow in scope, providing $70 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. Congress funded these agencies through the reconciliation process, which allows legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority, rather than the traditional appropriations process, after Democrats insisted on reforms to immigration enforcement and withheld the votes needed to meet the required 60 vote threshold to pass appropriations legislation in the Senate.

Throughout consideration of the package, some Republican members expressed a desire for a broader reconciliation bill that would include more of their priorities. On June 8, the House Republican Study Committee began talks with the Joint Committee on Taxation related to estimating program costs and savings as part of a possible third budget reconciliation bill. It is being reported that this third reconciliation bill could be focused on affordability measures, including affordable housing initiatives; tax code reforms like indexing capital gains on homes; fraud prevention in Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs; military funding related to Iran; and other priorities. House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), the committee with jurisdiction over tax measures in the House, has stated another reconciliation bill would need to have a tax package to gain his support. President Trump has said that he wants $350 billion for military funding and an election security measure, the SAVE America Act, included in the third reconciliation bill.

Some members of Congress, especially in the Senate, have communicated skepticism about whether a third bill is possible before the midterms. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) told reporters that "it would be very difficult to get a third reconciliation bill approved."

Appropriations‍ ‍

House Appropriators Advance HUD Funding Bill

 In the early morning hours of June 4, the full House Appropriations Committee voted 34 to 27 to advance the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) funding bill. The Committee-passed bill rejects many of the funding cuts proposed in the President’s FY 2027 Budget, although it funds many programs below the FY 2026 enacted funding levels.

During this markup process the Committee adopted three significant amendments related to housing and community development:

• A prohibition on any of the bill’s funding going to sanctuary cities(those that do not comply with requests by the Department of Homeland Security for information around release schedules of those in custody in the local jurisdiction);

• Report language expressing concern about HUD’s proposed “mixed-status” rule and directing HUD to continue serving mixed-status households that are eligible for assistance unless the law is changed; and

• Report language directing HUD to reimburse housing counselors for a range of services, including pre-purchase counseling for any type of loan, contrary to the notice of funding opportunity recently released by HUD.

The Committee also released its report language associated with the bill. The report language:

• Directs HUD to provide a briefing to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on implementation of Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements for HUD-funded federal housing projects within 90 days of enactment; 

• Urges HUD to release the NOFO for FY 2024 and FY 2025 Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) and Section 4 funding expeditiously; and

• Urges HUD to make its environmental review policy consistent across programs and to adopt the position that HUD’s extensions of mortgage insurance and loan guarantees do not require National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.

The next step for the House THUD bill is a full vote on the House floor.

NAAHL’s budget chart, which provides a more detailed breakdown of the funding levels for key programs, is available here.

Senate Appropriators have not yet released any funding bills. Senate Appropriations Chair Collins and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) have said that the committee has not reached agreement on topline funding levels yet. Markups of some appropriations bills, including the Agriculture bill, were scheduled for June, but those were subsequently postponed because of Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) medical absence. 

‍ ‍

Legislation‍ ‍

NDAA Process Begins, CDFI Amendment Filed in Senate

On June 11, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 18-9 to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027. NDAA authorizes defense and military activities and funding for the coming year, and, because it is a “must pass” piece of legislation, is often used as a vehicle to carry non-military related provisions.

This month, Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Mark Warner (D-VA) filed the Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development (AFFORD) Act, which combines several bills that would strengthen community development finance, as an amendment to NDAA. The AFFORD Act would:

• Require annual testimony from the Treasury on the operations of the CDFI Fund;

• Extend the authorization of the CDFI Bond Guarantee program and expand access to this source of long-term financing;

• Support a secondary market and other facilities to create liquidity for CDFI loans, freeing up resources for CDFIs to extend more affordable credit; and

• Expand a partnership between USDA and Native CDFIs that expands access to homeownership for Native homebuyers.

During the FY 2026 NDAA process, the AFFORD Act was included in the Senate-passed version of NDAA but was not included in the enacted bill.

The Senate is expected to take up NDAA on the Senate floor when they return from the July 4 holiday. NAAHL strongly supports the AFFORD Act and urges Congress to include it in the FY 2027 NDAA.

‍Flood, Goodlander Introduce Legislation on Build America, Buy America (BABA)

House Financial ServicesHousing and Insurance Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) and Representative Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) introduced the Build Housing Affordably Act. The bill would require HUD to conduct a study of the effects of BABA on affordable housing development and the waiver process, followed by a report to Congress containing all the study’s findings. The legislation would also stay implementation of BABA on covered affordable housing projects until 60 days after the report is delivered to Congress and institute a 90-day “shot clock” for reviewing BABA waivers for affordable housing projects. If waivers are not processed within 90 days, the waiver is “deemed to have been granted." 

This comes on the heels of a letter NAAHL and partner organizations submitted on recommendations to improve BABA implementation. HUD has also issued a request for information on the availability of domestically manufactured items necessary for the construction, alteration, maintenance and repair of housing. See “HUD Issues Request for Information on Build America, Buy America” below. 

Finance Committee Ranking Member Wyden Reintroduces the DASH Act

On June 12, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced the Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All (DASH) Act. The DASH Act proposes to increase the supply of rental housing through investments in existing programs and reforms to the tax code, including strengthening LIHTC and establishing a Renter's Tax Credit and Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit.

To expand housing supply for homeowners, the DASH Act includes the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which would create a federal tax credit to build and rehabilitate affordable homes for urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities, giving families opportunities to build wealth where they live and work. NAAHL, the National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST), and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) co-chair the Neighborhood Homes Coalition, an advocacy group of more than 50 national organizations, supporting the enactment of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act. In addition to expanding housing supply for homeowners, the DASH Act includes down payment assistance and a first-time homebuyer tax credit to address the high costs of homeownership.

The text of the bill is available here.

‍ ‍

Hearings

House Financial Services Committee Holds Oversight Hearing on Prudential Regulators

On June 4, the House Financial Services Committee held an oversight hearing featuring testimony from Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, FDIC Chairman Travis Hill, Comptroller Jonathan Gould, and NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman. The hearing covered a range of topics, including the Basel III proposed rule, artificial intelligence, monetary policy, access to the payments system, agency staffing, and general affordability issues. 

CRA Rule Reform: During the hearing, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH) asked FDIC Chairman Travis Hill about the status of the regulators’ proposal to rescind the 2023 CRA rule and return to the 1995 rule. Chairman Hill replied that they are still deciding whether they will return to the 1995 rule or whether they will pursue additional reforms, and that they would be making a decision “in the near future.”

Housing-related capital requirements: House Financial Services Committee Chairman Hill discussed the importance of appropriate regulatory treatment of construction loans to ensure that banks can provide access to the credit necessary to build housing, while Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Flood (R-NE) also asked regulators about elements of the Basel proposal that would help get banks back into mortgage lending.

House Ways and Means Committee Holds Hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

On June 4, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. During the hearing, members highlighted changes enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including changes to the Opportunity Zone tax incentive to benefit rural communities and the permanent expansion of and enhancements to LIHTC. 

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-NY) also asked Secretary Bessent for an update on the CDFI Fund. Secretary Bessent noted that OMB had apportioned funding for fiscal year 2025 and that his team has been reviewing CDFI priorities to get them back to their core business, saying the program will not be used for financial engineering or wasting taxpayer dollars.

Senate Banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs Committee Holds Affordability Hearing

On June 23, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing titled, “The Affordability Agenda.” This hearing covered a wide variety of topics, and many members used the hearing to highlight how provisions of the recently passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would help lower housing costs across the country. Senator Cortez Masto (D-NV) spoke about the importance of the HOME Investment Partnerships program reauthorization and improvements that she helped author, while Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) highlighted his RESIDE Act, which would convert vacant commercial or industrial buildings into affordable housing, and Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) highlighted the rural housing provisions, including the Streamlining Rural Housing Act.

Witnesses also discussed additional ways to unlock housing supply. National Association of Realtors’ President Kevin Brown spoke in favor of the More Homes on the Market Act, whichwould double the capital gains exclusion to $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for married couples and adjust the caps to reflect future inflation, reducing disincentives to sell a long-held home.

In addition, Senators used the hearing to discuss changes to capital standards recently proposed by the three banking regulators. During the hearing, Banking Committee Chairman Scott highlighted ways that changes in capital rules could support access to credit for small businesses and first-time homebuyers

‍ ‍

ADMINISTRATION

HUD

FHA Commissioner Frank Cassidy Resigns

On June 1, Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Frank Cassidy resigned from his position. In an interview following his resignation, he expressed his excitement to continue addressing the housing crisis from the private sector. He was confirmed to the position in December 2025. His resignation comes after a leave of absence was announced in April. Ginnie Mae President Joseph Gormley is leading the office in an acting capacity.

HUD Issues Request for Information on Build America, Buy America

On June 18, HUD issued a request for information (RFI) on products and categories of products used in housing programs that are subject to BABA requirements. The purpose of this RFI was described as ensuring that “HUD has comprehensive and up to date information on the domestic market, including the availability of BABA-compliant products and product categories used in HUD-assisted housing programs and other infrastructure projects involving buildings and real property.” Comments are due by July 20, 2026.

Last month, NAAHL joined national and regional organizations in a sign-on letter, urging Congress and the Administration to reform the implementation of the BABA as it applies to affordable housing programs.

HUD Announces Shift Away from Permanent Housing in Continuum of Care Funding Opportunity

HUD announced earlier this month that it will continue to limit resources for permanent housing and instead shift focus to temporary housing and services for people experiencing homelessness when it awards the $4.04 billion appropriated for its Continuum of Care program for FY 2026. The announcement comes despite ongoing litigation regarding similar policy changes that the agency attempted for FY 2025 funding for the program.

HUD’s new approach would move away from a decades-long “housing first” policy, which prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness. The changes to the program, which provides federal money to local organizations addressing homelessness, emphasize more support for transitional housing with work and treatment requirements. A coalition of organizations have filed litigation to block HUD’s shift in policy in awarding these funds.

‍ ‍

FHFA

FHFA Director Bill Pulte Becomes Acting Director of National Intelligence

On June 19, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte also became the Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) following the resignation of DNI Tulsi Gabbard. President Trump announced that he is nominating U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton to serve as the permanent DNI, but he has called for Clayton’s replacement as U.S. Attorney to be confirmed before Clayton’s nomination is considered. Director Pulte will serve as Acting DNI until the permanent DNI is confirmed.

While he is serving as DNI, Director Pulte will continue to serve as FHFA Director and as the Chairman of the Boards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

FHFA Proposes Overhaul of Duty to Serve Requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

On June 24, FHFA proposed to revise the regulation implementing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) Duty to Serve three underserved markets: rural housing, manufactured housing, and affordable housing preservation. Under the current program, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are required to adopt three-year plans, which include activities the company will carry out to support access to credit in each underserved market. The activities each company selects are heavily informed by a list of activities listed in the regulation. These include supporting access to mortgage credit in high-needs rural areas, for small multifamily properties, and for manufactured housing communities with certain protections.

The revised rule is intended to reduce regulatory burden and increase impact by removing the list of activities that would support each market, allowing additional innovation by the Enterprises. However, in the proposed rule, FHFA makes clear that, in order to support the manufactured housing market, the Enterprises must support a secondary market for personal property loans on manufactured homes (also called chattel loans). This is consistent with the "Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction" Executive Order issued earlier this year, which directed FHFA to consider reforming its guidelines and regulations regarding chattel lending for manufactured housing.

Comments on the proposal are due on July 24.  

‍ ‍

CFPB

CFPB Issues Statement on Ability to Repay and Immigration Status

This month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a statement on ability to repay and immigration status that could have implications for mortgage and credit card lending.

The statement was issued pursuant to the May 19 Executive Order “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” which directed the CFPB to consider clarifying that potential deportation and loss of wages are factors that could adversely affect a non-work eligible borrower’s ability to repay. In its statement, the CFPB says that in determining ability to repay “creditors relying on an individual’s income derived from U.S.-based employment are permitted—and may, under certain facts and circumstances, be obligated— to consider information that bears on the consumer’s underlying and continuing ability to earn income— when residency in the United States is a necessary component of such employment.”

The CFPB defines this statement as guidance and clarifies that it does not have the force or effect of law.

Brian Johnson Nominated as CFPB Director

On June 10, President Trump nominated Brian Johnson to be the Director of the CFPB. Mr. Johnson is currently an executive at Capital One and served as deputy CFPB director from 2018 to 2020 during President Trump’s first term. He has also served as a managing director at Patomak Global Partners and held positions on Capitol Hill, including policy director and chief financial institutions counsel on the House Financial Services Committee.

OMB Director Russell Vought has served as Acting CFPB Director since February 2025. If Mr. Johnson is not confirmed by August 1, when Director Vought’s current term as Acting Director expires, it was reported that CFPB Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta will serve as acting director in the interim.

White House

President Trump Issues Executive Order on Civil Service Classification

On June 3, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) “Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service.” This EO converts the status of approximately 8,000 federal employees involved in policy development. The change removes certain protections from these positions that civil service jobs traditionally maintain, such as limitations on terminations and the ability to appeal firings. These protections were designed to protect civil service employees from partisan pressure. Employees classified under this new status can be fired at will.

President Trump also issued an EO on his first day in office, January 20, 2025, “Restoring Accountability To Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce,” which laid the foundation for this change and stated it was reinstating President Trump’s first term “Schedule F” initiative under the new name of “Schedule Policy/Career.”

These changes are being challenged in court. 

‍

BANKING REGULATORS

NAAHL, Partners Call for Improvements to Bank Capital Rules for Affordable Housing and Community Development

This month, NAAHL and partner organizations wrote to the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), urging the banking regulators to revise the treatment of LIHTC and New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) as they modernize bank capital rules. The letters were submitted in response to the regulators’ joint proposal to update bank capital rules to align with the Basel III international agreement on bank capital standards. 

NAAHL, along with the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, Novogradac, and 24 other organizations, led a letter urging regulators to adopt a risk weight of 20% for LIHTC loans and investments, consistent with the performance history of these assets. NAAHL also joined the NMTC Coalition, Novogradac, and 12 other national organizations in submitting a letter urging regulators to adopt a risk weight of 20% for NMTC investments.

OCC Staff Cuts Likely This Year

This month, news reports indicate that the OCC is planning to further reduce its staff in three areas this year: the Office of the Chief National Bank Examiner, the Office of Enterprise Governance and the Ombudsman, and management and chief of staff offices, which includes communications staff and community affairs. The agency is reported to be pursuing reductions through buyouts and hopes to avoid the need for reductions in force.

The OCC’s staffing level has been declining. The agency currently has about 2,600 employees, a reduction from about 3,600 in 2024. The agency’s budget projects an additional 5% cut in personnel costs. Reductions in staffing within community affairs could reduce the agency’s ability to administer its public welfare investment authority and to support community development.

OCC Revises Policy Statement on Minority Depository Institutions

On June 16, the OCC released an updated policy statement on the agency’s definition of Minority Depository Institutions (MDI). Under the revised policy statement, MDIs are defined by the OCC as banks or federal savings associations that are at least 51% owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. This removes references to minorities and women from this definition, removing the presumption that an institution that is 51% minority- or woman-owned would receive an MDI designation.

Existing MDIs will retain their MDI status, even if they do not meet these criteria, but the OCC reserves the right to rescind their MDI status if they do not maintain the criteria that previously allowed them to qualify as an MDI.

Partnerships with MDIs are among eligible activities for favorable consideration under the Community Reinvestment Act. 

‍ ‍

CONFIRMATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• AWAITING FLOOR CONSIDERATION: Glen Smith to be Under Secretary for Rural Development.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• NOMINATED: Irving Dennis to be Chief Financial Officer.

• HEARING HELD: Jeffrey Ledbetter to be Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Office of Management and Budget

• HEARING HELD:Hal Duncan to be Deputy Director.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• NOMINATED: Brian Johnson to be Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.