WASHINGTON - Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman is co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill designed to address America’s housing shortage.

Portman, along with Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the Housing Supply and Affordability Act to create a new grant program that would provide funding to help local communities develop and implement comprehensive housing policy plans.

Backers of the program say it would provide technical assistance to help states, localities, and regional coalitions increase housing supply, improve housing affordability, and reduce barriers to new housing development while avoiding the displacement of current residents. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House.

 “The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has increased the cost of housing in Ohio and cities across the nation. To truly address this issue, we need to look closely at what’s happening at the local level, and that is exactly what this bill does,” said Portman. “This bipartisan piece of legislation will provide localities and municipalities with resources to expand the supply of housing and increase affordability.”

An estimated 2.5 million additional housing units are needed to match long-term housing demand, while the total inventory of homes for sale in December 2020 was the lowest on record.

The shortage of housing supply—and the inability of many housing markets to respond to local demand—decreases housing affordability for working families, restricts access to high-opportunity job markets, and raises the costs for housing assistance programs offered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

 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.

The bill also directs HUD to provide recommendations on strategies that states and localities should consider in developing and implementing these plans, including how to best inclusively engage with community members on housing reforms.

The bill requires routine reporting from applicants regarding the use of these grant funds, convenes a learning group of applicants and grantees to facilitate problem-solving regarding housing reforms, and requires a study from HUD describing the impact of the Program and outlining the most successful strategies in expanding the supply of housing.

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