A House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing & Insurance hearing examined the mounting challenges facing rural communities in developing and preserving affordable housing.
The “Four Horsemen” of Housing Costs
While the hearing had a rural lens, Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) used the platform to outline what he calls the “Four Horsemen of the Housing Apocalypse”— federal requirements that drive up costs across all affordable housing:
- Environmental Reviews (NEPA) that delay a project’s start;
- Build America, Buy America (BABA) for construction materials and appliances;
- Davis-Bacon Wage Reporting; and
- Section 3.
In Context: Chairman Flood and Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) convened a separate closed hearing to examine issues that cut across HUD programs, particularly in the context of potential reauthorization of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
Rural Barriers & Solutions
Witnesses pointed to familiar challenges across all housing stock: aging infrastructure, high construction and transportation costs, limited access to capital, and time-consuming federal “stacking” requirements. They offered a range of policy solutions, some specific to rural housing, including:
- A 30 percent LIHTC “basis boost for rural projects;
- Passage of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act;
- Streamlining USDA and HUD rules and expanding technical assistance for small-town zoning and permitting;
- More flexibility for modular and manufactured housing;
- Scaling Nebraska’s Workforce Housing Fund and Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Fund models; and
- Advancing the Strategy & Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2025, a draft bill to modernize the USDA’s Rural Housing Service
What’s Next: Lawmakers expressed bipartisan interest in moving the rural housing bill forward, with ongoing oversight of HUD and USDA programs. While the FY 2026 proposed budget broadly maintained funding for Rural Housing Programs, it zeroed out the Rural Housing Voucher Program.
Go Deeper: This chart from the Housing Assistance Council compares FY 2026 rural housing funding levels, including details from the House Appropriations Committee’s draft USDA spending bill. The House added back $48M for rural housing vouchers.
