Menendez Introduces Legislation to Spur Local Economic Growth, Job Creation by Connecting Affordable Housing and Access to Public Transit

Press Release

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee, today introduced legislation that creates a federal grant program to incentivize the coordinated development of affordable housing and transit. The Livable Communities Act of 2021 encourages local communities to partner strategically to develop bold, innovative solutions that reflect their unique character, while leveraging existing assets, including access to transit to help revitalize neighborhoods, spur economic development, create jobs, and address their affordable housing needs.

"Our communities are stronger when hardworking families can afford to live close to where they work. As the nation faces an affordable housing crisis, we don't want to see teachers, first responders, grocery store clerks, restaurant staff and other essential workers be priced out of the neighborhood," said Sen. Menendez. "Creating "livable communities' is all about connecting workers to good-paying jobs through expanded affordable housing options and access to good public transportation by inextricably and strategically linking the two in a community's broader redevelopment plans. The Livable Communities Act of 2021 provides federal investments to help local communities throughout New Jersey and the nation craft and implement redevelopment plans that generate economic opportunities, create jobs, provide housing and improve the quality of life for all residents."

According to a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD), low-income families who lived away from employment centers spent 40 percent of their income on transportation costs. As a result, working families living in underserved and majority-minority communities have less access to good-paying jobs.

The Livable Communities Act of 2021:
· Establishes an Office of Sustainable Communities within HUD to promote interagency coordination on the development of affordable housing, transit systems, and other community needs;

· Creates a Comprehensive Planning Grant Program to allow partnerships between local governments, planning organizations, and Indian Tribes and creates comprehensive regional plans for the development of sustainable, affordable housing with access to transit;

· Creates a Community Challenge Grant Program to help fund the implementation of comprehensive regional plans;

· Creates a Credit Facility to promote access to credit for the development and improvement of public transportation facilities;

· Sets aside 25% of the funding specifically for high-poverty communities;

· Launches a Federal initiative to support healthy housing and reduce the prevalence and severity of housing related health hazards.

"The National League of Cities applauds Senator Menendez for introducing the Livable Communities Act. Local governments have weathered numerous fiscal challenges and other uncertainties in recent years, from the mortgage crisis and global financial downturn a decade ago to today's COVID-19 related losses that have exacerbated job insecurity, housing instability, and other long-standing inequities. As a result, many local governments have had to permanently downsize staff and pull back on resources dedicated to planning and analysis," said National League of Cities CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony. "The Livable Communities Act directly addresses such losses by proposing new federal resources for planning at the local and regional level. The bill will help local governments increase or restore capacities for sophisticated data analysis, regional coordination, and other community building blocks necessary for better outcomes for all residents. Moreover, the bill takes care to ensure every size city and town, including rural, urban, and suburban centers, will be represented among grantees."
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also sponsored this legislation.

The Livable Communities Act of 2021 builds upon legislation Sen. Menendez previously introduced in 2011.

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