Bill gives $1.6 billion to help build and keep affordable homes.
H.R. 9540 — Community Housing Act of 2026 · Filed by Becca Balint (D-VT) · 16 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill gives $1.6 billion in federal money to help communities build affordable homes. It helps fix up old homes and helps renters and buyers pay for housing. It sets up grants so towns can change zoning rules. It helps people buy homes in rural areas. It supports community land trusts that keep housing affordable.
Who it affects
Low-income renters and people trying to buy homes benefit from this bill. Local governments, nonprofits that build housing, and rural communities get money and help.
One thing to notice
The bill removes a 1998 rule that stopped the government from building new public housing. It lets the government forgive or delay loan payments for rural rental housing.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
16 cosponsors: 16 Democrats.
- Jun 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- zoning — Local rules that say what can be built where and how land is used.
- community land trusts — Groups that own land and keep housing affordable for people long-term.
- public housing — Homes built and owned by the government for low-income people.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 5, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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