The Week Ahead: Senate to Explore Equal Housing Measures

On Thursday, June 24, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will meet in an open session for the hearing "Examining Bipartisan Bills to Increase Access to Housing," at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

Led by Sen. Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, the session will feature testimony from Lisa Mensah, CEO and President of the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). Under Mensah’s leadership, OFN helps Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) leverage public funding with private investment from mainstream financial institutions, socially responsible investors, and philanthropic partners to bring capital to distressed communities across America.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently jointly announced a $1.25 billion plan to help underserved communities acquire federal funding as the country continues to wade through the aftereffects of the coronavirus pandemic. Harris and Yellen said the Treasury has awarded the relief funds to 863 CDFIs.

Congress is faced with a number of pieces of bipartisan legislation drafted to provide access to affordable housing, improve the safety conditions within current federally-assisted housing, and targeting some of the nation’s existing housing resources to meet unaddressed needs of underserved markets.

This hearing will examine current bills being considered to level the housing playing field and inch closer to a more equitable solution for all, regardless of political affiliation.

President Joe Biden deemed the month of June “National Homeownership Month,” shining a spotlight on supporting the American Dream of homeownership, and recognizing the organizations that help individuals and families to achieve their housing goals.

Biden’s Administration recently dedicated nearly $35 billion for housing initiatives in its Fiscal Year 2022 Budget for the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

Click here for more information on the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing "Examining Bipartisan Bills to Increase Access to Housing.”

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

• MBA's Forbearance and Call Volume Survey (Monday)
• NAR's May Existing-Home Sales Report (Tuesday)
• MBA Weekly Applications Survey (Wednesday)
• Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
• MReport Webinar “MReport Webinar Series: Originations Demand and Outsourcing Success” (Thursday)
• 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)