The Week Ahead: The Great American Housing Facelift

This week, the House Financial Services Committee will host a virtual hearing, “Building Back Better: Examining the Need for Investments in America's Housing and Financial Infrastructure,” set for Wednesday, April 14 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) will lead the hearing, which will discuss measures the industry and government can take to improve the housing system and the benefits of these investments.

In 2019, Chairwoman Waters introduced H.R. 5187, the Housing is Infrastructure Act of 2020, a bill that would authorize additional funding for various housing assistance programs, including:

• Public housing agencies’ ability to maintain and improve public buildings;
• States and communities to reduce the risk of flood damage to housing;
• Very low-income residents to improve and modernize rural housing;
• Indian tribes to develop housing and housing services;
• Non-profit organizations and community development financial institutions to conduct activities related to affordable housing and economic development;
• State housing finance agencies to provide supportive housing for individuals with disabilities;
• Private non-profit organizations to provide supportive housing for the elderly; and
• States, counties, and cities to develop and preserve affordable housing.

“Too many Americans are fighting tooth and nail to keep a roof over their heads as our nation continues to face a housing affordability and homelessness crisis,” said U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who released a companion bill—S. 2951: Housing is Infrastructure Act—while in the Senate. “It will take a comprehensive and serious investment to confront this issue head on, and the Housing is Infrastructure Act is our best chance to get it done. I am proud to work with Chairwoman Waters on this bill, which would empower our local communities to make affordable housing available for all. Housing is a human right, and we must act now to tackle the affordable housing crisis and ensure everyone has a safe and accessible home.”

Click here to log on to the virtual hearing.

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

• MBA Forbearance and Call Volume Survey (Monday)
• Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Hearing: "Separate and Unequal: The Legacy of Racial Discrimination in Housing" (Tuesday)
• MBA Weekly Applications Survey (Wednesday)
• Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursday)
• U.S. Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (Thursday)
• Black Knight weekly forbearance data (Friday)