Garamendi touts his recently passed housing affordability legislation at Solano Church Community forum

Representative John Garamendi joined Solano Supervisor Wanda Williams and Senior Pastor Dr. Sam Morris at a community forum held at the BayNorth Church of Christ in Fairfield, where he explained how his recently passed HOME Act, a key provision of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the most substantial pieces of housing legislation in years, will help build affordable housing in Solano County.

“California has faced a severe affordable housing shortage for far too long,” said Garamendi. “Today, a minimum-wage worker in California must work nearly 90 hours a week just to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. That is unacceptable.

“This year, Congress passed one of the most substantial affordable housing bills in years, including a bill I have spent years working on called the HOME Act. The HOME Act modernizes HUD’s premier affordable housing grant program and will give cities and counties the tools they need to build more affordable housing.

“Now that this bill is the law of the land, we are already speeding down the path to making California a more affordable place to live. In fact, just last month, I was joined by local leaders in highlighting the building of new affordable housing in my district. California families have been bearing the weight of unaffordable housing for too long. Now, it’s time to build.”

Background
Garamendi’s legislation puts federal dollars directly toward building new affordable homes. For the first time, communities can use Community Development Block Grant funding to construct new affordable housing, giving cities and counties another major federal funding source to increase housing supply. The law also creates a $200 million-a-year Housing Innovation Fund to reward communities that increase their housing supply through reforms like streamlined permitting, density bonuses, and zoning changes.

The legislation makes it cheaper and faster to build common housing types. It does this by streamlining environmental reviews for federally supported housing, delegating more reviews to state and local governments, and removing duplicative requirements for smaller and infill projects, reducing delays and financing costs.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program is the largest federal affordable housing block grant and HUD’s flagship affordable housing production program. Garamendi’s HOME Act allows communities to use HOME funds for water and sewer lines, sidewalks, roads, and utility connections directly tied to HOME- or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects—helping remove costs that can keep otherwise viable affordable housing from getting built.

Since 1992, the HOME program in California has
• Invested $5.27 billion in housing across the state;
• Built or preserved 121,727 homes;
• Provided rental assistance to 43,840 families;
• Supported 277,318 jobs; and
• Generated $19.2 billion in local income.

With the HOME Act’s additional spending authority and flexibility, the impacts of the HOME program in California will grow even faster. Garamendi originally introduced the HOME Investment Partnership Reauthorization Act in 2020 and has continued to champion affordable housing legislation in Congress.