The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $85 million in grants to 21 communities across the country to lower housing costs and boost housing supply. The grants are being distributed through the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program, which makes federal grants available to state and local governments that are facing barriers to building more affordable housing.
The grants announced Wednesday will help communities plan how to best address these barriers, which may include land cost, a lack of development, or outdated land use and permitting processes. The Biden administration has made lowering housing costs a centerpiece of its plan to address the affordability crisis. In a statement, Vice President Harris said that the cost of housing is still too high, and that Americans looking to buy a home still have difficulty finding one they can afford.
“That is why President Biden and I believe that every American deserves affordable housing so they have a roof over their head and a place to call home,” Harris said. “That is why we have a plan to build millions of new units of affordable housing in communities all across our nation, which will bring down the cost of housing for renters and help more Americans buy a home.” The grants are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to reduce housing costs. The administration has also proposed a $258 billion housing construction plan that includes $20 billion in federal funding for new units.