Housing costs

Build Housing with Care Act of 2025

This bill establishes a competitive grant program to support co-located childcare and housing facilities. It also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the availability and affordability of childcare for residents of public housing.

Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development must award the grants to eligible entities, which include community development financial institutions, public housing authorities, licensed childcare providers, government entities, housing developers, and consortia of such entities. Entities must use the grants for designing, planning, constructing, acquiring, renovating, or otherwise supporting new or existing housing facilities with childcare providers on the same premises or nearby.

Expanding Head Start Eligibility Act of 2025

This bill expands eligibility for Head Start programs to include the children of families eligible for specified public assistance programs.

Specifically, the bill expands Head Start eligibility to include the children of families that qualify for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), and federal housing assistance (commonly known as Section 8). The bill also provides statutory authority for the eligibility of families that qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Families that qualify for state-funded food assistance programs with eligibility standards identical or substantially similar to the standards for SNAP must also be eligible for Head Start.

American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025

This bill addresses housing affordability and availability through grants, housing programs, and oversight of financial institutions. The bill also makes certain changes to the estate tax, such as by generally increasing the rate.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development shall provide grants to (1) state, local, and tribal governments to remove barriers to building affordable units, (2) states to assist borrowers who have negative equity in their homes, (3) state housing finance agencies to support construction of affordable rental housing and prevent tenant displacement and harassment, and (4) eligible individuals (generally, lower income individuals who are first generation homebuyers) to help them purchase their first homes.

The bill establishes and provides funding for the first-time homeowner grant program and the affordable rental housing construction program, and it also funds existing rural housing programs.

The bill also requires financial regulators to generally assess the effectiveness of financial institutions in meeting the credit and lending needs of their communities, particularly of underserved populations.

The bill also expands fair housing protections to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, source of income, veteran status, or an individual's perceived membership in a protected class (e.g., an individual's perceived race or sex).

Additionally, the bill modifies the estate tax in various ways, including by reducing the number of brackets to three, increasing the tax rates, and reducing the basic exemption amount. The bill also places additional taxes on high-income estates and trusts.

VA Home Loan Awareness Act of 2025

This bill requires mortgage lenders to include on the Uniform Residential Loan Application (i.e., Fannie Mae Form 1003 or Freddie Mac Form 65) a notification that applicants with military service may qualify for a Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan.

Not later than 18 months after the enactment of the bill, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on whether at least 80% of lenders using the loan application form have met this requirement.

Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes through FY2030 and modifies the Weatherization Assistance Program. Under the program, the Department of Energy (DOE) provides grants for low-income households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

The bill increases the cap on the average assistance provided per home from $6,500 to $12,000.

The bill also directs DOE to include in its annual report to Congress a description of the impacts of enhancement and innovation readiness efforts on eligibility for assistance under the program.