U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, on Monday celebrated the final passage of a package of housing legislation including the Build Now Act, a policy targeting the byzantine zoning and permitting rules jamming housing construction and raising rents, according to a news release from the congresswoman.
Gluesenkamp Perez has been a leader on this provision since its introduction and worked closely with Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Michigan, to advance it through the House.
According to the news release from Gluesenkamp Perez, a complex web of permitting has resulted in housing scarcity. Local municipalities find themselves unable to permit new housing fast enough to keep up with demand, and rely on federal affordable grants to address housing shortages. This bill encourages housing construction by boosting localities’ Community Development Block Grant funding when they improve their track record on building more housing, and modestly adjusting it when they do not.
Critically, localities' performance is judged upon itself, not against each other. This protects them from cuts in instances of low housing demand and signs of economic distress, and if they have experienced recent natural disasters, or do not have control over zoning and permitting.
“My husband and I built our house for $140,000, but if I lived one county over, the permit alone would’ve added another $30,000,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in the release. “Permitting and the red tape around housing has become so bloated and complicated that normal people can’t afford to build anything anymore. My bill empowers local governments to clean up permitting, and gets us back to being a country that builds housing when we need it.”
The Build Now Act was included in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which passed through the House and Senate with bipartisan support last month. While the president declined to sign the bill, it became law automatically after his window to veto closed. The housing package is designed to improve affordability and access for American families, the release stated.
