[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 3, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1029-S1030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 580. A bill to reauthorize the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.
  Ms. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the 
``Affordable Housing Redevelopment Act,'' which I introduced today.
  I want to thank Senator Padilla for joining me on this important 
bill, and Representatives Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson for leading a 
companion measure in the House of Representatives.
  Established in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the 
Neighborhood Stabilization Program was created by Congress to help 
provide assistance to communities hit hard by the recession by funding 
the acquisition and rehabilitation of troubled residential properties.

[[Page S1030]]

  The program helped States, local governments, and nonprofit 
organizations acquire properties and rehabilitate or repurpose them as 
long-term affordable housing.
  Between 2008 and 2019, Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds have 
facilitated the construction or rehabilitation of more than 50,000 
homes, and the program has generated $1.8 billion in return income, 
allowing communities to stretch Federal investments even further.
  Today, more than 7.4 million units of affordable housing are needed 
across the U.S. to meet the needs of low-income renters. In my home 
State of California, more than 1.4 million units are needed to address 
the State's affordable housing shortage.
  Due to financial burdens and loss of income resulting from the COVID-
19 pandemic, millions of people in the United States are at risk of 
eviction or foreclosure, and the need for more affordable housing is 
expected to increase dramatically.
  In addition to making long-term investments in building new 
affordable housing in the United States, it is also critically 
important to focus resources on more immediate solutions, such as 
acquiring and rehabilitating existing buildings.
  Acquisition and rehabilitation provides two distinct advantages: it 
lowers per-unit construction costs and makes affordable housing units 
available to low-income households much faster.
  The ``Affordable Housing Redevelopment Act'' would reauthorize and 
expand the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help State and local 
governments purchase blighted, vacant, abandoned, foreclosed, or 
surplus properties, and convert them into affordable housing. Eligible 
projects would include mixed-use development and conversions of non-
residential office and retail properties.
  All new units would have to serve households whose income does not 
exceed area median income, and at least 25 percent of units would serve 
households whose income does not exceed 50 percent of area median 
income. Long-term affordability requirements would apply in all cases.
  The bill would authorize $1.5 billion in discretionary appropriations 
to be allocated as a competitive grant program administered by the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  This bill provides a targeted and cost effective way for the Federal 
government to help communities build more affordable housing, while 
also stimulating local economies and creating jobs.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this bill. Thank you, 
Mr. President, and I yield the floor.
                                 ______