# 119-hr-6957: Yes in God's Backyard Act

119-hr-6957, Yes in God's Backyard Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6957
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6957
- Congress: 119
- Title: Yes in God's Backyard Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-07
- Sponsor: Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Housing and Community Development
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Uses faith-based organizations and colleges to unlock property for new affordable rental housing.** This bill would create a federal technical assistance program and a competitive Challenge Grant program to help faith-owned and institution-owned land be converted or preserved as affordable rental housing for low-income, at-risk, and special-needs households. - Families and low-income households: Prioritizes units for households at or below 60% of area median income and for extremely low-income families, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, veterans, and people with disabilities. - Faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education: Gets federal help to convert excess property, preserve existing affordable housing, and receive outreach and development guidance through technical assistance and grants. - Local governments and regional planners: Can win Challenge Grants to remove local policy barriers, conduct outreach, and provide loans or grants for projects, with required public notice and comment and preferences for projects in well-resourced areas. *Would increase federal spending by authorizing $25.0 million for technical assistance in FY2026, $10.0 million annually for FY2027–2031, and $50.0 million annually for Challenge Grants in FY2026–2031.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA), 2026-01-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Affordable housing on faith and college land: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create HUD programs to turn underused faith- and college-owned land into affordable rental housing. The Secretary would set up a Technical Assistance Program. It would get $25 million for FY2026 and $10 million each year for FY2027–FY2031. The bill would also fund a compe…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-2945: Housing for All Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6766: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-6957 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6957)

## Related
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-2945: Housing for All Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2945)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-6766: Essential Caregivers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6766)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6957 (as of 2026-04-21).