- “We need to jumpstart a housing boom in America and massively increase the supply of new homes.” – U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff
- “Secure, affordable housing fundamentally changes lives and opens new doors to opportunity.” – Representative Lateefah Simon
by Vanguard Staff
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff on Tuesday unveiled sweeping legislation aimed at jump-starting a nationwide housing construction boom, framing the proposal as a generational response to rising rents, chronic underbuilding and deepening homelessness.
The proposal, titled the Housing BOOM Act, short for Building Occupancy Opportunities for Millions, seeks to dramatically expand housing production across the country, with a particular focus on affordable and middle-income housing. Schiff’s office described the measure as the largest expansion of federal housing tools in decades, centered on boosting supply while strengthening renter protections and homelessness prevention.
“We need to jumpstart a housing boom in America and massively increase the supply of new homes,” Schiff said. “In the same way we built millions of houses for returning GI’s in the wake of World War II, we need to bring a similar urgency to the construction of vast numbers of new homes. Nothing less will address the crisis of housing unaffordability in America.”
Schiff said the legislation would make “generational investments” to expand housing supply in California and nationwide and emphasized the need for bipartisan support to move the bill through Congress. “We need to take action, and to make it possible for families to achieve the American dream,” he said.
At the core of the bill is a major expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a longstanding federal program used to finance affordable housing development. Schiff’s proposal would expand the credit to deliver new funding streams for projects that are already shovel-ready but lack sufficient capital, an approach his office says would unlock thousands of additional housing units. According to the senator’s office, this represents the largest expansion of the program ever proposed.
The legislation also creates new federal programs aimed at middle-income and workforce housing, including a $10 billion annual loan fund and a $5 billion annual block grant program administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These programs would target households earning between 60 percent and 120 percent of area median income, a group increasingly priced out of housing in many regions.
Representative Lateefah Simon, a California Democrat, is set to introduce companion legislation in the U.S. House and will co-lead the effort with Schiff. Simon said the scale of the housing shortage demands sustained federal action.
“Secure, affordable housing fundamentally changes lives and opens new doors to opportunity,” Simon said. “Right now, we are facing a massive shortage of housing in California. We need bold, sustained, and lasting solutions to address the housing crisis and ensure people can access affordable housing options with dignity and ease.”
She said the Housing BOOM Act would increase housing supply while also creating “long-term, multifaceted solutions to the homelessness crisis,” strengthening fair housing protections and expanding tenant support, including for veterans and low-income families.
The legislation comes as housing affordability pressures continue to intensify nationwide. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the United States faces a shortage of at least 7.1 million homes affordable to low-income renters. A 2024 Census Bureau survey found that 20 million renter households spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, a commonly used threshold for housing cost burden.
Beyond construction incentives, the Housing BOOM Act includes substantial investments aimed at addressing homelessness. The proposal would authorize more than $5 billion annually for states and local continuums of care to support long-term housing, emergency shelter and homelessness prevention. It also calls for expanded mental and behavioral health services for people experiencing homelessness, as well as increased funding for supportive housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
The bill also seeks to expand rental assistance for low- and middle-income households by increasing authorizations for tenant-based rental assistance, including Section 8 and HUD-VASH vouchers for veterans. Schiff’s office said these measures are designed to stabilize households at risk of losing their homes and reduce inflows into homelessness.
In addition, the legislation includes provisions aimed at protecting tenants and strengthening fair housing enforcement. These include prohibiting discrimination based on source of income, including the use of housing vouchers, and improving access to federal housing programs for people with limited English proficiency through the creation of a HUD language access plan.
The Housing BOOM Act also encourages the conversion of underutilized hotels and public buildings into housing by establishing a new federal grant program for state and local governments, an approach that gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schiff said the housing crisis requires action at a scale not seen in generations. “I will be focused on building bipartisan support for this bill in Congress, so we can build millions of new homes and make life more affordable for families,” he said.
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Breaking News Housing State of California
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Adam Schiff Affordable Housing Congress federal housing policy Homelessness Housing Crisis Low-Income Housing Tax Credit National Low Income Housing Coalition Representative Lateefah Simon U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff