HUD-USDA-VA Interagency Coordination Act
- Bill Number
- S. 1695
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Housing and Community Development
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-05-08: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- Last Updated
- 2025-12-18T12:03:19Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The HUD-USDA-VA Interagency Coordination Act aims to enhance coordination among federal housing programs by requiring the Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Agriculture (USDA), and Veterans Affairs (VA) to collaborate on sharing data and identifying efficiency improvements. This supports evidence-based policymaking to better serve housing needs, particularly for vulnerable groups like low-income families, rural communities, and veterans.
Key Provisions
- Short Title: The legislation is titled the "HUD-USDA-VA Interagency Coordination Act."
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): The Secretaries of HUD, USDA, and VA must create an MOU or similar interagency agreement to share housing-related research and market data, enabling more informed policy decisions.
- Interagency Report: Within 180 days of the Act's enactment, the three Secretaries must jointly submit a report to specified congressional committees (in both the Senate and House) describing opportunities for greater collaboration to boost efficiencies in housing programs.
- The report must first be published in the Federal Register (a government publication for official notices) and open for public comments for 30 days before submission.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
This Act introduces new mandates for formal interagency coordination that were not previously required by law. It does not amend or repeal existing statutes but adds specific reporting and data-sharing obligations to promote collaboration among HUD, USDA, and VA housing initiatives, such as rural housing loans (USDA), urban affordable housing (HUD), and veteran home loans (VA).
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Encourages streamlined operations and resource sharing among HUD, USDA, and VA, potentially reducing duplication in housing services and leading to more effective program delivery.
- Citizens: Could improve access to affordable housing for low-income individuals, rural residents, and veterans by fostering policies based on shared data, though benefits depend on implementation.
- International Relations: No direct impacts, as the Act focuses on domestic federal housing programs.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Agencies: HUD, USDA, and VA, which administer overlapping housing programs.
- Congressional Committees: Senate Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and Veterans' Affairs; plus House counterparts on Financial Services, Agriculture, and Veterans' Affairs, which will receive and review the report.
- Public and Beneficiaries: Low-income households, rural communities, veterans, and housing advocates who may benefit from improved program efficiencies; public input is invited via the comment period.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Strengthens interagency cooperation under existing federal authorities, with no new enforcement mechanisms but reliance on voluntary MOU implementation. The public comment period promotes transparency in line with administrative law principles.
- Constitutional: Aligns with Congress's oversight role over executive agencies (Article I powers) without raising separation-of-powers concerns.
- Political: Bipartisan introduction (by Senators McCormick and Gallego) signals broad support for non-partisan housing reforms; it emphasizes efficiency without mandating budget changes, potentially appealing across ideological lines but requiring follow-up action for real impact.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (2)
Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ], Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA]
Recent Actions
- 2025-05-08: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- 2025-05-08: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- HUD-USDA-VA Interagency Coordination Act — issued 2025-05-08 — PDF (2 pages)