PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Houlahan, Chrissy [D-PA-6] · D–PA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 11, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.10316 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.10316 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.10316 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.10316 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-08 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 would urge the President to declare a housing emergency. During that emergency, it would suspend specified housing requirements, exempt certain housing projects from environmental review, and restrict state and local rules that substantially burden home construction or rehabilitation. States and local governments would also have to meet housing-growth conditions to receive federal block grants. The emergency would end when the bill’s housing-production threshold is reached or on October 1, 2031, whichever comes first.
This Act may be cited as the National Housing Emergency Act of 2026.
the President should declare a national emergency with respect to housing
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect— (1) sections 212(d), 218(g), and 220 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12742(d), 12748(g), 12750), and any regulation or guidance implementing those sections, shall have no force or effect;
no housing preservation or infill project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be subject to any Federal environmental review requirements
shall be applied as a required funding condition in order for a State or unit of general local government to receive Federal block grant funding
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect, no State or unit of general local government shall impose or implement a land-use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the construction or rehabilitation of residential housing.
A national emergency described in section 2 shall terminate on the earlier of— (1) the date on which 4,000,000 additional residential housing units, as compared to the date of enactment of this Act, are constructed or rehabilitated in the United States; or (2) October 1, 2031.
Section 2 expresses Congress’s view that the President should declare a housing emergency under the National Emergencies Act and use Defense Production Act authorities to increase domestically produced materials for housing construction and rehabilitation. This language urges presidential action; it does not itself declare the emergency.
It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the President should declare a national emergency with respect to housing under section 201 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621); and (2) to address that emergency, the President should use the authorities provided by the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4531 et seq.) to increase the supply of materials produced in the United States that support the construction and rehabilitation of housing.
The bill’s findings describe a housing shortage of at least 4 million units and project a shortage approaching 10 million by 2035. They also assert potential employment and economic gains from closing the shortage. These are the bill’s stated findings and projections, not established effects of the proposed legislation.
Congress finds that—
(3) there is a shortage of at least 4,000,000 housing units due to low levels of residential construction and compounding regulations; (4) the housing unit deficit is projected to increase to nearly 10,000,000 units by 2035;
(10) investing in closing the housing unit shortfall can unlock nearly 2,000,000 jobs, including over 700,000 construction jobs, and add nearly $2,000,000,000,000 to the gross domestic product through 2035.
Section 4 would add residential construction and rehabilitation to one Defense Production Act provision and insert housing into another. Unlike the emergency-dependent provisions, these amendments contain no express emergency-duration limit. The existing statutory passages are not reproduced, limiting what can be concluded about their full legal effect.
The Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) is amended— (1) in section 2(a)(5) (50 U.S.C. 4502(a)(5)), by inserting and residential construction and rehabilitation after domestic energy; and (2) in section 702(14) (50 U.S.C. 4552(14)), by inserting , housing, after programs for military.
During the housing emergency, three specified provisions of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, along with their implementing regulations and guidance, would have no force or effect. The bundle does not reproduce those provisions, so it does not establish the underlying requirements being suspended.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect— (1) sections 212(d), 218(g), and 220 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12742(d), 12748(g), 12750), and any regulation or guidance implementing those sections, shall have no force or effect;
During the housing emergency, section 108(e) of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act would have no force or effect. The suspension would also cover implementing regulations or guidance related to housing development. The referenced statutory text is not supplied.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(2) section 108(e) of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4707(e)), and any regulation or guidance implementing that section related to housing development, shall have no force or effect;
During the housing emergency, housing preservation or infill projects funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be exempt from all federal environmental review requirements. The bill does not define preservation or infill projects.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(3) no housing preservation or infill project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be subject to any Federal environmental review requirements;
During the emergency, housing development or rehabilitation using more than one federal program would receive only one environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, notwithstanding other law. The provision includes federal agency actions contributing to the project.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, if more than 1 Federal program is used for the development or rehabilitation of housing, including any Federal agency action that contributes to the development or rehabilitation of housing, only 1 environmental review shall be carried out for the project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
During the emergency, any housing project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development could take an action classified as a “choice limiting action” under the cited regulation or its successor. The regulation is not reproduced, so the bundle does not explain which actions this would permit.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(5) a choice limiting action described in section 58.22 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, shall be permitted for any housing project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
During the emergency, legal restrictions on duplicate benefits would be suspended for housing development or rehabilitation under community development block grant disaster recovery grants. The suspension expressly includes section 312 of the Stafford Act. The source does not reproduce the rules defining prohibited duplication.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(6) any provision of law (including regulations) or guidance that prohibits the duplication of benefits under community development block grant disaster recovery grants for the development or rehabilitation of housing, including section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155), shall have no force or effect;
During the emergency, the housing secretary and the budget office director would have to expedite the specified Build America, Buy America waiver process. The housing secretary would have 30 days after publishing a written justification to complete it; missing that deadline would cause the waiver to be treated as issued. The underlying waiver provision is not reproduced, so its eligibility rules and the requirements being waived cannot be determined from this bundle alone.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(7) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Director of the Office and Management and Budget shall expedite the waiver process under section 70914 of the Build America, Buy America Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 1298) such that the Secretary is required to complete the waiver process within 30 days of publishing a written justification under subsection (c) of such section 70914, and if the Secretary does not complete the review within that timeframe, the waiver shall be deemed to be issued.
During the emergency, housing constructed or rehabilitated would have to meet specified building standards. Site-built housing would have to meet the 2009 International Residential Code or an equivalent, including amendments adopted by state, local, tribal, or territorial governments. Manufactured housing would have to meet the federal standards in part 3280 of title 24.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect, housing constructed or rehabilitated shall meet the requirements of— (1) the 2009 International Residential Code, or an equivalent code, including amendments adopted by State, local, Indian tribal, or territorial governments for site-built housing; or (2) part 3280 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, for manufactured housing.
Within 30 days after enactment, designated housing and transportation officials would have to establish a “Pro-Growth Requirement.” During the housing emergency, states and general local governments would have to satisfy that condition to receive federal block grants, including surface transportation block grants.
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Undersecretary for Policy Development and Research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Undersecretary for Policy at the Department of Transportation shall establish a funding condition to be known as the Pro-Growth Requirement, which shall be applied as a required funding condition in order for a State or unit of general local government to receive Federal block grant funding, such as surface transportation block grant program funding under section 133 of title 23, United States Code, during the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect.
One required funding-condition factor would be positive housing growth compared with the previous year within the grant recipient’s jurisdiction. Growth would be measured using the Census Bureau’s Building Permit Survey and Address Count Listing Files.
The following factors shall be met in order for a grantee to be in compliance with the Pro-Growth Requirement described in subsection (a): (1) A positive level of housing growth measured against the previous year based on the Building Permit Survey and the Address Count Listing Files published by the Bureau of the Census within the jurisdiction of the grantee.
A second required factor would be action to remove barriers to housing development and rehabilitation. Examples include reducing minimum lot sizes or parking requirements, allowing manufactured homes or buildings with two to four homes in single-family areas, shortening permitting, and converting offices to housing. The text presents these as examples rather than requiring every listed measure.
(2) The grantee has taken action to remove barriers to housing development and rehabilitation, such as— (A) reducing minimum lot size requirements; (B) allowing manufactured homes in areas zoned for single-family residential homes; (C) eliminating or reducing off-street parking requirements; (D) allowing duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes in areas zoned for single-family residential homes;
(H) streamlining or shortening permitting processes and timelines; (I) allowing the conversion of office units into residential units;
(N) enacting and implementing other laws or rules with a positive anticipated impact on housing supply.
A third required factor would be clear, measurable housing-growth objectives in the recipient’s consolidated plan—the housing affordability strategy and community development plan identified in the bill.
(3) The comprehensive housing affordability strategy and community development plan issued by the grantee under part 91 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation (commonly referred to as a consolidated plan) identifies clear, measurable objectives for housing growth.
A grant recipient could appeal a compliance determination to the agency distributing the grant if it could show measurable actions taken to increase housing supply and growth within its jurisdiction.
A grantee described in subsection (a) is allowed an appeal process relating to compliance with the Pro-Growth Requirement described in that subsection with the agency distributing an applicable grant if the recipient can display measurable actions taken to increase housing supply and growth within their jurisdiction.
During the emergency, states and general local governments would be prohibited from imposing or implementing land-use rules in a way that substantially burdens residential construction or rehabilitation. Section 8 does not tie this prohibition to receipt of federal funding or define “substantial burden.”
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect, no State or unit of general local government shall impose or implement a land-use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the construction or rehabilitation of residential housing.
The housing emergency would terminate when 4 million additional residential units, measured against the enactment date, have been constructed or rehabilitated in the United States, or on October 1, 2031, whichever happens first. The threshold includes rehabilitation as well as construction.
A national emergency described in section 2 shall terminate on the earlier of— (1) the date on which 4,000,000 additional residential housing units, as compared to the date of enactment of this Act, are constructed or rehabilitated in the United States; or (2) October 1, 2031.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 11, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the Financial Services and Transportation and Infrastructure committees on September 8, 2026. It does not establish any later action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-11T14:55:04Z.
2026-09-08: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
2026-09-08: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-08. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No provision unrelated to the housing-emergency proposal or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what appears in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying earmark disclosures and reports are not supplied, and formal earmark status cannot be established beyond the supplied evidence.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains specific regulatory exceptions and special waiver treatment within its housing policy. Their classification as targeted benefits does not establish improper purpose or whether they are justified.
Housing preservation and infill projects funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development would receive a specific exemption from all federal environmental review requirements during the housing emergency. This gives a defined subset of housing projects regulatory relief tied to the bill’s main policy.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(3) no housing preservation or infill project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be subject to any Federal environmental review requirements;
Housing development or rehabilitation projects using more than one federal program would receive a specific single-review rule during the housing emergency: notwithstanding other law, only one environmental review would be carried out under the National Environmental Policy Act. The provision includes federal agency actions contributing to housing development or rehabilitation. This special review treatment applies to a defined group of projects and supports the bill’s housing-production policy; the supplied text does not establish how many reviews any particular project would otherwise require.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, if more than 1 Federal program is used for the development or rehabilitation of housing, including any Federal agency action that contributes to the development or rehabilitation of housing, only 1 environmental review shall be carried out for the project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
Housing projects funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development would receive express permission during the housing emergency to take a “choice limiting action” described in 24 CFR 58.22 or its successor. This regulatory exception singles out HUD-funded housing projects as part of the bill’s removal of barriers to housing production. The supplied text does not define “choice limiting action” or reproduce the referenced regulation, so the particular actions permitted and the full scope of the exception cannot be determined.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(5) a choice limiting action described in section 58.22 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, shall be permitted for any housing project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
Housing development and rehabilitation assistance under community development block grant disaster recovery grants would receive a specific exception from restrictions on duplicate benefits during the emergency. The exception targets this use of disaster-recovery assistance rather than removing those restrictions generally.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(6) any provision of law (including regulations) or guidance that prohibits the duplication of benefits under community development block grant disaster recovery grants for the development or rehabilitation of housing, including section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155), shall have no force or effect;
Parties seeking waivers through the Build America, Buy America process specified in section 5(7) would benefit from expedited processing and deemed issuance during the housing emergency. The housing secretary would have to complete the process within 30 days after publishing the specified written justification; if the secretary did not complete the review within that period, the waiver would be deemed issued. This special treatment is part of the bill’s removal of regulatory barriers to housing production. The underlying waiver statute is absent, so the full class of eligible beneficiaries and the requirements waived cannot be determined from the supplied text.
During the period that a national emergency described in section 2 is in effect—
(7) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Director of the Office and Management and Budget shall expedite the waiver process under section 70914 of the Build America, Buy America Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 1298) such that the Secretary is required to complete the waiver process within 30 days of publishing a written justification under subsection (c) of such section 70914, and if the Secretary does not complete the review within that timeframe, the waiver shall be deemed to be issued.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 11, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI