# 119-s-3970: Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act

119-s-3970, Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3970
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3970
- Congress: 119
- Title: Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-03
- Sponsor: Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Housing and Community Development
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Narrowing NEPA review for rural infill housing.** This bill would exempt certain USDA housing assistance for constructing or modifying homes on infill sites from being treated as a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act, to speed approvals and reduce administrative hurdles. - Rural families and communities: May speed the delivery of affordable housing on infill sites so households can move in sooner and projects clear local bottlenecks faster. - USDA applicants and administrators: Could reduce time and administrative costs for the specific programs named in the Housing Act of 1949, and requires the Agriculture Secretary to report to Congress within 5 years on time and cost changes, impacts on rural affordable housing, and recommended next steps. - Environmental and planning limits: The exemption applies only to sites served by existing infrastructure and specifically excludes greenfields and census tracts with very high or relatively high FEMA National Risk Index ratings for wildfire or flooding.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Faster USDA rural infill housing approvals: benefit, low. If enacted, this bill would say certain USDA housing help for building or fixing homes on qualifying infill sites would not be a "major Federal action" under NEPA. It would apply to assistance under sections 501, 502, 504, 515, 533, and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949. An infill site would be one al…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026
- 119-s-2828: Child Care Modernization Act of 2025
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-4065: STAND with Taiwan Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-3970 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3970)

## Related
- [119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668)
- [119-s-2828: Child Care Modernization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2828)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4378)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-4065: STAND with Taiwan Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4065)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3970 (as of 2026-09-10).