American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Elizabeth Warren
Introduced
Summary
Boost housing affordability and expand homeownership access. This bill would create new programs to help first‑time and first‑generation buyers, tighten mortgage‑sale rules to protect borrowers, and overhaul estate and trust tax rules to target wealth transfers.
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- Families and first‑time buyers: Would establish a HUD‑Treasury down‑payment grant program for eligible first‑time, first‑generation buyers. Grants would cap at 3.5% of a property’s appraised value and carry a 5‑year occupancy repayment rule with hardship exceptions.
- Borrowers facing loan sales and foreclosures: Would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give at least 90 days’ written notice before selling covered mortgages and to ensure buyers offer loss‑mitigation as favorable as if the loan had not been sold. Failure to meet these rules would be an affirmative defense to foreclosure and bulk re‑performing loan sales must prioritize governments or nonprofits and offer post‑sale relief for borrowers more than 60 days delinquent.
- Estates, trusts, and high‑wealth taxpayers: Would cut the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million, add a 10% surtax on estates over $1 billion, tighten grantor trust rules, and impose a new surcharge on estates and trusts based on modified adjusted gross income.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Large federal housing funding boost
If enacted, the bill would send large new money to housing programs. HUD would run a Local Housing Innovation grant program with $2 billion per year (FY2025–FY2029). The Capital Magnet Fund could be authorized at $3 billion per year and the Housing Trust Fund at $48 billion per year (both FY2025–FY2034). HUD would get a $4 billion Middle Class Housing Emergency Fund for 2025 and $70 billion for public housing capital in 2025. New rules would require Davis‑Bacon wage rates on covered construction and require twice as many accessible units in projects funded by this Act.
Stronger homeowner sale protections
If enacted, the bill would add new protections when large mortgage holders sell or auction single‑family loans. Borrowers must get a separate written notice at least 90 days before a loan is placed in a sale. FHFA and HUD could not allow certain auction programs until they adopt notice‑and‑comment rules. Purchasers must offer loss mitigation at least as favorable as pre‑sale options and certify compliance; buyers who break the rules can be stopped from foreclosing. FHA REO sales would prioritize owner‑occupant buyers or community partners and require long reporting and resale limits.
Tribal and Native Hawaiian housing money
If enacted, the bill would set explicit funding for Indian and Native Hawaiian housing programs. The Indian Housing Block Grant would be authorized at $2.5 billion for FY2025 and continued as such sums as necessary through FY2034. The Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant would be authorized at $50 million for FY2025 and continued as such sums as necessary through FY2034. The bill also clarifies that certain NAHASDA rules do not apply to tenant‑based voucher assistance.
Major estate, gift, and trust tax changes
If enacted, the bill would sharply change estate, gift, and trust tax rules. It would set a new estate tax schedule, lower the basic exclusion to $3,500,000, and add a 10% surtax for very large estates. The bill would create a $10,000 per‑donee simplified annual gift exclusion and cap some illiquid transfer exclusions. It would limit common estate‑planning techniques: deny step‑up for certain grantor trusts, tighten GRAT rules, ban many valuation discounts for family transfers, and largely repeal GST exemptions for non‑exempt transferees. At the same time, it would raise farm special‑use valuation limits to $3,000,000 and increase the conservation easement exclusion to $2,000,000 with a 60% percentage, which helps qualifying landowners.
Bank CRA and supervision overhaul
If enacted, the bill would rewrite many Community Reinvestment Act and bank supervision rules. It would change how banks count and report community development loans and deposits, require machine‑readable loan and deposit data and an FFIEC public portal, expand assessment areas, and require community advisory committees and executive meetings. Agencies would get new remedial powers and penalty options for low CRA ratings. Banks that finance fossil fuel expansion could see those loans deducted from community development credit unless they fund specific climate resiliency projects. Regulators may also set new caps on public‑welfare investments tied to capital and CRA ratings.
Homebuyer and neighborhood aid
If enacted, HUD would fund neighborhood stabilization and direct homebuyer help. The bill would authorize $5 billion for State grants to help homeowners in neighborhoods with an appraisal gap pay arrears, clear small liens, or fix homes. HUD would run a down payment assistance fund to give one‑time grants (up to 3.5% of appraised value) for first‑time, first‑generation buyers under 120% of AMI (140% in some high‑cost areas); recipients who do not live in the home for five years may need to repay part. The bill would also provide roughly $1.28 billion in rural housing funding for 2025 and temporarily let certain descendants of qualifying WWII‑era veterans get VA loan eligibility under narrow conditions.
Stronger Fair Housing protections
If enacted, the Fair Housing Act would explicitly include protections for gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, source of income (including vouchers), and veteran status. The bill would protect 'actual or perceived' race and color and preserve certain targeted veterans housing programs. This could strengthen nondiscrimination rights for renters and buyers who use vouchers, are LGBTQ, or are veterans.
New rules for community credit unions
If enacted, the NCUA could approve Federal credit unions to serve people in designated underserved local areas if the credit union is well capitalized and begins providing services within 24 months. Approved credit unions must report members and offices and the agency will publish compliance lists. The bill would also require new business and outreach plans for credit unions seeking community fields of membership, with final NCUA rules due within one year.
Changes to vouchers and PHAs
If enacted, HUD would issue rules to let local public housing agencies consolidate some contracts and administration for vouchers, with rules due within one year. PHAs in metropolitan areas must do a regional location analysis at least every five years showing where voucher holders live and where affordable units are. PHAs could use a supplemental administrative fee to help families with children or a member with a disability move to lower‑poverty, higher‑opportunity neighborhoods under objective rules.
Limit agency collection of PII
If enacted, federal financial supervisors would be barred from using certain authorities to collect or analyze a consumer's personally identifiable financial information from regulated institutions. This would limit agency data gathering to protect consumer privacy.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Elizabeth Warren
MA • D
Cosponsors
Raphael Warnock
GA • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Edward Markey
MA • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Bernie Sanders
VT • I
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Mazie Hirono
HI • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Richard Blumenthal
CT • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Chris Van Hollen
MD • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Andy Kim
NJ • D
Sponsored 3/11/2025
Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
NM • D
Sponsored 3/14/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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