Herrera Beutler introduces bicameral legislation to address nationwide housing shortage

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On Wednesday, March 24, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, joined Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware, and Joyce Better, D-Ohio, to introduce the Housing Supply and Affordability Act. According to a news release, the act will create a new grant program that would provide funding to help localities develop and implement comprehensive housing policy plans. The program will also provide technical assistance to help states and regional coalitions increase the housing supply, improve affordability and reduce barriers to new housing development. 

Companion legislation in the U.S. Senate is led by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia. 

“Our nation’s housing crisis, coupled with the effects of the COVID pandemic, has hit Southwest Washington communities and families particularly hard. Finding solutions to meet our region’s housing demands is a top priority of mine, and it’s why I’m working in Congress on this issue. I’m pleased to introduce the Housing Supply and Affordability Act to help increase affordable housing options for citizens throughout Southwest Washington,” Herrera Beutler said in a news release. 

According to the release, the Housing Supply and Affordability Act will establish a $300 million per year grant program to award planning and implementation grants to states, localities and regional coalitions of localities to support the development and implementation of comprehensive plans to expand the supply and affordability of housing, reduce barriers to new housing development and avoid the displacement of current residents. 



This legislation has been endorsed by 100 national and local organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, Up for Growth Action, NeighborWorks Association and American Planning Association.

“The Housing Supply and Affordability Act will provide cities, states, regional association, and tribes the resources they need to connect housing with jobs, transit and opportunity,” Up for Growth Executive Director Mike Kingsella said. “The Local Housing Policy Grant program established by the legislation incentivizes recipients to develop housing policies that eliminate artificial barriers to housing production, including exclusionary zoning. The bipartisan Housing Supply and Affordability Act should be a key component of the country’s continued economic recovery. We applaud Senator Klobuchar, Senator Portman, Senator Kaine, Representative Blunt Rochester, Representative Herrera Beutler and Representative Beatty for developing and introducing this critical pro-housing legislation.”