21/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 21/08/2024 16:19
HUD No. 24-213 HUD Public Affairs (202) 708-0685 |
FOR RELEASE Wednesday August 21, 2024 |
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which created several critical programs that have benefited millions of American families
WASHINGTON - This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Housing and Community Development (HCD) Act of 1974, which created several programs-including the Housing Choice Voucher program, the Project Based Rental Assistance program and Community Block Development Grant program-to provide access to quality, safe, affordable homes for all. Collectively, these programs ensure families have access to affordable housing The legislation also included the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act, creating what is commonly referred to as the HUD Code, which maintains national standards for safe, durable, efficient and affordable manufactured homes. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, HUD continues to expand these successful programs in alignment with the President's goals to lower housing costs for all Americans and reduce barriers to affordable housing.
"Like President Biden, and Vice President Harris, I believe there is nothing Americans can't do when we do it together. The groundbreaking programs we are celebrating today have provided affordable housing to countless Americans in urban, suburban, and rural communities. These programs demonstrate that when we act boldly, we meaningfully improve people's daily lives," said Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. "We also know there is more to be done and that is why this Administration has proposed ambitious new housing investments and we call on Congress to act to help people with current high housing costs."
On August 22, 1974, the HCD Act was signed into law, to provide the foundations for better housing for all Americans and boost the long-range prospects a robust domestic housing market. The 1974 Act helped build the nation's largest housing programs to meet the needs of lower income households. These programs include:
The legislation of 1974 also created the Community Block Development Grant (CDBG), a resource for more than 1,000 local communities to address several community development needs, including rehabilitating housing and upgrading aging infrastructure. Through CDBG-Disaster Recovery, more than $100 billion has been used since 1992 to help communities across America manage long-term recovery needs after extreme weather events and major disasters. The legislation also authorized the creation of a nationwide performance-based building code for manufactured housing, which simultaneously improved the safety of new manufactured housing, improved efficiency of mass production and reduced construction costs. Today, the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, commonly known as the "HUD Code," remains the preemptive federal standard for ensuring that manufactured housing - which houses more than 20 million Americans - remain safe, durable, and affordable. In the past three years, HUD has ensured the safe and affordable production of approximately 360,000 manufactured homes that adhere to the HUD Code.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, HUD is not only celebrating the programs, but it is also investing in making them better:
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research is publishing a number of research papers looking back at the Housing Choice Voucher and the Community Development Block Grant programs over the past 50 years with their Summer and Fall editions of Cityscape. The Housing Choice Voucher program edition is currently available, and the Community Development Block Grant edition which will publish in November. In addition, HUD has published a research roadmap for offsite construction of housing that looks back at HUD's role over the past 50 years.
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