S934-119

What This Bill Does

The American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025 is a comprehensive housing reform bill that addresses the U.S. housing affordability crisis through three main strategies: providing massive federal investment in affordable housing construction (over $130 billion in authorized spending), reforming zoning and land use restrictions to increase housing supply, and closing wealth transfer tax loopholes to fund these programs.

Who Benefits and How

• Low and moderate-income renters and homebuyers gain access to more affordable housing through $48 billion/year for the Housing Trust Fund, $70 billion for public housing rehabilitation, and up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time, first-generation homebuyers.

• LGBTQ+ individuals, housing voucher holders, and veterans receive expanded Fair Housing Act protections, making it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, or veteran status.

• Descendants of WWII-era Black veterans who were denied GI Bill housing benefits due to discrimination become eligible for VA home loans.

• Nonprofit housing developers, community land trusts, and CDFIs receive priority access to purchase foreclosed properties and distressed loans, plus increased lending from banks under strengthened CRA requirements.

• Landowners with conservation easements benefit from an increased estate tax exclusion (from $500,000 to $2 million).

Who Bears the Burden and How

• High-net-worth families and wealthy estates face significantly higher estate taxes: the exemption drops from ~$13 million to $3.5 million, loopholes like GRATs, grantor trusts, and dynasty trusts are closed, and a new 5-8% surcharge applies to high-income trusts.

• Large banks and nonbank mortgage lenders face expanded Community Reinvestment Act requirements, mandatory Community Advisory Committees, new data collection and reporting requirements, and deductions from CRA credit for fossil fuel lending.

• Landlords and property managers must comply with expanded fair housing protections covering more protected classes.

• Private equity firms and bulk investors lose priority access to purchase foreclosed properties and distressed mortgages, which now go first to nonprofits and government buyers.

• Federal taxpayers fund the $130+ billion in new housing programs.

Key Provisions

• Authorizes $48 billion annually for the Housing Trust Fund and $3 billion for the Capital Magnet Fund to build affordable housing
• Creates $2 billion/year in grants for local governments that reform zoning to allow more housing
• Provides $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time, first-generation homebuyers with income below 120% of area median
• Extends VA home loan eligibility to descendants of veterans denied benefits between 1944-1968
• Adds sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and veteran status as protected classes under the Fair Housing Act
• Strengthens CRA by covering nonbank mortgage lenders, requiring fossil fuel lending deductions, and adding enforcement penalties
• Closes estate tax loopholes on GRATs, grantor trusts, valuation discounts, and dynasty trusts
• Reduces estate tax exemption to $3.5 million and adds income surcharges on wealthy trusts