U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced bipartisan legislation last week to improve rural housing programs and increase the accessibility of affordable housing.
Their bill, the Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2023, would reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service. Among its provisions, it would fix a longstanding problem for Section 515 properties that were financed by the USDA decades ago and now have maturing mortgages. This bill would make it easier for non-profits to acquire those properties.
In addition, the bill would expand an existing USDA pilot program to provide home loan assistance to Native American borrowers.
Further, it would bring the USDA’s outdated method of determining incomes in line with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s practices; modernize the USDA’s foreclosure process to cut red tape, better protect homeowners and make certain USDA-owned properties stay affordable; update the rules for a home repair loan program to make it easier to get smaller loans; and invest in IT so USDA can process loans more quickly and with less staff time spent on paperwork.
“Homeownership is part of the American dream and a key to building wealth,” Rounds said. “Over the past year, Senator Smith and I have held hearings met with stakeholders, and visited with constituents in our states about the hurdles within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service. This legislation makes important improvements and updates to the Rural Housing Service that will create and preserve affordable housing opportunities in South Dakota. As we face an affordable housing crisis across the nation, I look forward to working with my colleagues to get these important, bipartisan updates signed into law.”
Rounds and Smith are members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The committee has held several hearings to find ways to improve federal rural housing programs. The senators said this bill represents one of the most significant reforms of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service in years.
“Without a safe, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works,” Smith said. “Not your job, not your education, not your health. We know that the housing crisis is hurting communities across the country, and the problem is particularly acute in rural places. 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.”