# 119-s-2720: Yes in God's Backyard Act

119-s-2720, Yes in God's Backyard Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2720
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2720
- Congress: 119
- Title: Yes in God's Backyard Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-04
- Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Housing and Community Development
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Helps faith-based organizations and colleges turn owned land into affordable rental housing.** The bill would create a Technical Assistance Program and a Challenge Grant program to remove local barriers and support development and preservation of affordable rental housing for low-income and vulnerable households. - Families and vulnerable renters: Prioritizes housing for households at or below 60 percent of area median income, extremely low-income families, people who are homeless or at risk including veterans, people with disabilities, and intergenerational housing. - Faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education: Would provide guidance on converting excess property, preserving existing affordable units, and navigating federal housing programs through technical assistance and public resources. - Local and regional governments: Could receive competitive Challenge Grants to assess and remove policy barriers, fund outreach, loans, or development activities. Challenge Grants are authorized at $50 million per year for FY2026–2031 and administrative costs are capped at 10 percent. *Would authorize $25 million for technical assistance in FY2026 and $10 million per year for FY2027–2031, plus $50 million per year for challenge grants in FY2026–2031, totaling about $375 million in authorized appropriations.*

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to Convert Faith-Owned Property: benefit, medium. This bill would create a competitive Challenge Grant program to help turn faith- and college-owned property into affordable rental housing. Eligible applicants would include local governments, States, metropolitan planning organizations, and multi-jurisdiction entities with policies to remove housi…
- What 'Affordable Rental Housing' Means: benefit, low. This bill would define key terms used in the subtitle. 'Affordable rental housing' would mean monthly rent is no more than 30% of a covered household's income. A 'covered household' would mean income at or below 100% of area median income as defined by the Secretary. The bill would also adopt exist…
- Free Technical Help for Faith Properties: benefit, low. This bill would create a HUD Technical Assistance program to give public guidance and tools to faith-based groups, colleges, and local governments. If enacted, resources would show how to convert excess property to affordable rental housing and preserve existing units. Materials would address housi…

## Related bills

- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
- 119-s-422: Right to Contraception Act

## Sources
- [119-s-2720 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2720)

## Related
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [119-s-422: Right to Contraception Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-422)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2720 (as of 2026-04-21).