FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces $5.5 Billion to Boost Affordable Housing, Invest in Economic Growth, Build Wealth, and Address Homelessness in Communities Throughout America

Announced after the first two stops of the Vice President's nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour, the new funding to 1,200 communities will build and preserve homes, lower housing costs, support renters and homeowners, aid people experiencing homelessness, create jobs, and improve public facilities and community resilience.

Today, Vice President Harris announced new funding to boost affordable housing, invest in economic growth, build wealth, and address homelessness across America. This funding is through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

President Biden and Vice President Harris are working to lower housing costs and increase the housing supply to address the large shortage of affordable homes they inherited from their predecessor, while investing historic resources to prevent and end homelessness. In President Biden's State of the Union address, he called on Congress to support the construction and rehabilitation of two million additional homes, lower costs for renters, and help first time homebuyers and families seeking to trade up or downsize.

Yesterday, Vice President Harris was in Detroit, MI for the second stop on her nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour. During her speech, the Vice President highlighted the Administration's plan to cut housing costs, boost supply, and expand access to affordable housing. She also discussed the Administration's work to address racial bias in home appraisals.

Today, the Vice President announced a crucial infusion of funds to address the country's critical housing needs: $5.5 billion in grants to 1,200 communities through more than 2,400 grants to states, cities, DC, Puerto Rico, and local organizations across the country. These grants build on ongoing efforts by the Administration, the White House Housing Supply Action Plan and the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, boost housing supply, lower housing costs, expand rental assistance, enhance renter protections, and invest in stronger, more resilient communities for all.

"Homeownership is an essential part of the American Dream that represents so much more than a roof over our heads. For people all across our nation, a home represents financial security, the opportunity to build wealth and equity, and a foundation for a better future for themselves, their children, and future generations," said Vice President Harris. "That is why President Biden and I are expanding on our historic investments in housing by announcing $5.5 billion that will increase access to affordable housing, invest in economic growth, and address homelessness in communities throughout America. This funding will build more affordable homes and support renters and homeowners while also lowering costs, building wealth, and creating jobs."

"A coordinated whole-of-community approach is crucial to build strong and resilient communities, invest in decent housing, create healthy environments, expand economic opportunities accessible to low-income households, and support aspiring homebuyers and those experiencing homelessness," said Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman. "The funding made available today serves as building blocks to empower communities to take ownership of community development investments and put the needs of residents first."

These funds will be provided through the following HUD programs:

• $1.3 billion to 668 grantees to build affordable housing — The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is the primary Federal block grant that helps States and local governments to produce affordable rental and owner-occupied housing for low-income families. HOME funds a wide range of activities including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership or providing direct rental assistance to low-income people. HOME projects leverage non-federal funds including, in many cases, tax credits for affordable rental housing. In 2023 the program helped create over 13,000 units of housing and more than 13,000 households were assisted with tenant based rental assistance through the HOME program.

• $214 million to every state to increase affordable housing supply – The Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is an affordable housing production program that complements existing Federal, state and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including families experiencing homelessness. HTF is a formula-based program for States and U.S. Territories. By law, each state is allocated a minimum of $3 million. In 2023, the program helped create more than 1,681 units of affordable rental housing for extremely low-income households.

• $3.3 billion to 1,254 grantees to build stronger communities — The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) provide annual grants on a formula basis to States, cities, counties, and insular areas to develop stronger, more resilient communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income people. In 2023 the program helped over 62,000 families through housing activities, 25,500 individuals through job creation or retention, 52,000 people experiencing homelessness through improvements to homelessness facilities, over 5.4 million people through public services, and over 41.8 million people through through public improvements.

• $455 million to 130 grantees to connect people with HIV/AIDS to housing and support — The Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) program provides stable and permanent housing assistance and supportive services to low-income people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Over 100,000 households receive HOPWA housing assistance and/or supportive services annually.

• $290 million to 357 grantees to address homelessness — Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) provide funds for homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters, and funds related social service and homeless prevention programs. ESG funds may be used for street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing assistance. Annually, ESG connects over 350,000 people to emergency shelter as they transition to permanent housing.

• $30 million to 23 States and the District of Columbia to support recovery from substance use disorder — The Recovery Housing Program (RHP) allows States and the District of Columbia to provide stable, transitional housing for individuals in recovery from a substance-use disorder.

The grants announced today by the Vice President will provide critical funding for a wide range of activities to address communities' most pressing local needs, providing flexible resources to build homes, support renters and homeowners, provide life-saving assistance to people experiencing homelessness, create jobs, and improve public facilities, community resilience, and local economies.

For more information, see the following examples from previous years about how these funds have enabled communities to provide innovative housing solutions and expand affordable housing:

• Transforming a Historic Building into Affordable Homes in Cleveland, Ohio: Through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee program, HUD granted a $15 million loan guarantee to the City of Cleveland, Ohio, to transition the downtown historic Huntington Building back into productive use, including affordable housing, commercial and retail space, and a museum.

• Supporting Affordable Homes for Seniors and People with Disabilities in East Greenwich, Rhode Island: The Frenchtown Road project will create 63 units of affordable housing available to low- and moderate-income household, serving a community with a low stock of affordable housing currently available. The project will offer on-site supportive services for seniors and people with disabilities. Construction is underway with completion anticipated in early 2025.

• Building Affordable Homes for Homeless Seniors and Veterans in Vista, California: The County of San Diego awarded over $4 million in HOME and HOME-American Rescue Plan funding to support the development of a 54-unit affordable housing complex – Santa Fe Village – in the City of Vista. The development will include 25 units for homeless seniors with serious mental illnesses, and two units will be reserved for veteran households. This property will provide access to supportive services for these households, including on-site case management, and peer support activities.

• Funding Water & Wastewater Systems in Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development used their CDBG allocation in 2023 to award nearly $3.5 million in funding to ensure safe water and sewage systems in Mifflin, Somerset, and Sullivan counties.

Today's announcement follows the first two stops of the Vice President's nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour, which is taking her back to several states across the country as she highlights how the policies of the Biden-Harris Administration have delivered for the American people. During each stop, the Vice President is highlighting how the Biden-Harris Administration has delivered historic investments that have supported communities and helped people thrive. This includes improving access to housing while making it more affordable. The tour kicked off last week with a moderated conversation in Atlanta, GA.

Today's announcement builds on the Vice President's career of working to protect homeowners and address housing supply and affordability. As Attorney General of California, she helped pass the California Homeowner Bill of Rights to provide protections to homeowners facing foreclosure. As U.S. Senator, she introduced several bills to increase the supply of affordable housing and lower costs for renters. Now as Vice President, she has led the charge on addressing racial bias in home appraisals by announcing key actions of the PAVE Action Plan, including recent actions that make it easier for more homeowners to appeal home appraisals that may be undervalued because of racial bias.