A Step in the Right Direction: Biden Includes Housing Plan in 2024 Economic Report

Washington takes on housing affordability challenges, with focus on increasing supply through federal funding

On March 21, President Biden presented the 2024 Economic Report to Congress, an annual report providing an overview of the nation’s economy which details his economic policies. Of note, this year’s report prominently features plans for increasing access to safe and affordable housing for all Americans.

The report emphasized what housers and the Administration agree on— every American should have access to safe and affordable housing. The report also cites that housing supply has failed to keep up with demand, leaving 45% of renters spending 30% or more of their family income on rent. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) points to land-use regulation, rising construction costs and the spatial mismatch between workers and jobs as the main drivers of the supply shortage.

What Is the 2024 Economic Report?

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is an agency within the Executive Office of the President. It is charged with offering the President objective economic advice on the formulation of both domestic and international policy. The Council bases its recommendations and analysis on economic research and empirical evidence, using the best data available to support the President in setting our nation’s economic policy.¹

Supply Is the Solution

The report proposes to address long-standing, counterproductive land-use regulations by building on recent efforts at local and state zoning reforms. In that vein, the report points to both existing Federal programs and new Administration proposals.

The current Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program is an $85 million competitive grant program for local communities with plans to remove barriers to affordable housing. HUD has also published Policy and Practice, which collected successful state and local housing policies. Furthermore, HUD provided $4 million in grants to study zoning and land-use reforms and a $350,000 award through its Research Partnerships program to develop a “National Zoning Atlas” to better understand counterproductive zoning. Finally, HUD reinforced its “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule requiring HUD grantees to end counterproductive land-use policies.

Rising Construction Costs Key to Bringing Down Overall Costs

To address rising construction cost, the Administration goes on to propose adding a $20 billion Treasury planning and housing capital grant program to expand housing supply in its Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal to Congress, in addition to existing housing development programs.

Increasing Land Use Efficiency Must Be Part of the Equation

To help address the spatial mismatch of workers and jobs, the report also notes existing programs at the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA). In particular, it notes the DOT’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program and the Areas of Persistent Poverty Program. The EDA, meanwhile, is emphasizing that efficient land use is one of the goals of its grants.

Housing Providers Stand Ready to Be A Part of the Solution

The report concluded that local, state, as well as Federal policies can boost the housing supply and, as such, it intends to prioritize incentivizing those changes and address the nation’s severe housing supply shortage. NMHC applauds the Administration for recognizing the decades-long issues on housing affordability but urges Congress to eliminate the hurdles currently in place to help increase housing supply and address the housing affordability crisis.

¹ From WhiteHouse.gov

Bernard Fulton bfulton@nmhc.org