U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will announce $100 million in new financing Monday to increase the supply of affordable housing, the Treasury department said in a statement.
The measure is one of several moves by the Treasury to try to address a chronic housing shortage — a concern of voters, a contributor to inflation and a source of dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden's handling of the economy ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The additional $100 million over three years comes from payments that the Treasury is receiving from prior COVID-era investments in community lenders to support small businesses, consumers and affordable housing projects. The 2021 Emergency Capital Investment Program injected over $8.57 billion into community lenders, who in turn invested $1.2 billion in 433 affordable housing projects, the Treasury said.
It said it will create a new program at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund that it estimates could support the financing of thousands of affordable housing units.
In excerpts of remarks at a public housing development project in Minneapolis, Yellen said she expects shelter inflation to moderate.
"But we face a very significant housing supply shortfall that has been building for a long time. This supply crunch has led to an affordabilty crunch," Yellen said in excerpts of remarks. She added that the burden was greatest on low-income and Black households.
Yellen also is calling on the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks to devote at least 20% of their net income to housing programs, up from the legal requirement of 10% and the banks' voluntary commitment of 15%.
Had this commitment been in place over the last five years, the 11 government-sponsored enterprises would have contributed nearly $2 billion more to housing programs than legally required, the Treasury said.
The Treasury is also providing state and local governments with guidance on using their remaining COVID-19 recovery funds to increase the supply of housing. This includes a "how-to guide" on using the funds to support construction.
Another step Yellen will announce is the update of a rule for an existing housing program in the CDFI Fund that reduces the administrative burden, allowing more resources to support construction and preservation of housing.