WASHINGTON — With Congress gridlocked over Department of Homeland Security funding, other priorities have fallen to the wayside. But with this fall’s midterm elections on the horizon, lawmakers are still pushing solutions for an issue top of mind for many Americans: affording a home.
Sens. Peter Welch D-Vt., and Jim Justice, R-W.Va., are putting forth a proposal to specifically address affordability concerns in rural areas by introducing a two-page bill that would help more Americans qualify for housing assistance. The move comes after a broader bipartisan housing package that the Senate passed earlier this month has stalled in the House.
The new legislation, obtained first by NBC News, would modernize housing assistance eligibility requirements that could help roughly 30 million homebuyers in rural areas access loans. The last time Congress addressed those requirements was nearly six decades ago. Under current law, homebuyers living in areas with a population greater than 2,500 do not qualify for the loans.
“Making farm credit loans more accessible is vital to addressing this crisis and will help millions of rural families experience the joy of homeownership for the first time,” Welch said in a statement.
Farm credit lenders and banks provide assistance for Americans in rural areas, including farmers and ranchers, to construct or purchase a home. The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., would change the eligibility threshold to communities with a population of less than 10,000, potentially opening the door to nearly 40% of the U.S. population.
The median age of first-time homebuyers in the U.S. reached a record-high of 40 years old last year, and first-time buyers made up just 21% of all purchases. Home prices have grown at five to seven times the pace of homeowner incomes.
“All over rural America, folks just want to own a home, raise their families, and build something that lasts,” Justice said in a statement. “This bill helps increase competition for credit and opens the door for over 230,000 West Virginians to do just that.”
At his State of the Union address last month, President Donald Trump pushed a 50-year mortgage and urged Congress to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes to help prospective homebuyers break into the market. He also signed a pair of executive orders aimed at reducing regulatory hurdles on home construction and mortgages.
Several weeks ago, most of the GOP-led Senate voted for a 303-page bill that would increase housing supply by reining in corporate investors and instituting permitting, zoning and environmental reforms.
But when House Republicans blocked the effort, Trump suggested they focus instead on strengthening voter ID requirements and restricting vote by mail, despite a senior administration official telling NBC News the president supports the Senate bill and would sign it into law.
The political headwinds have intensified amid the administration’s ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which is exacerbating the cost of gas and oil, and causing mortgage rates to rise again.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told his members several weeks ago in Florida that Trump told him “no one gives a (bleep) about housing,” according to a lawmaker who was present. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle disputed the account, and said “President Trump has been laser-focused on making housing more affordable.”
