Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Building Housing for the American Dream Act”.
Building Housing for the American Dream Act
A BILL
To amend section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to spur an increase in the supply of housing, including low-income housing, in the United States.
Sec. 2 Incentives for EB–5 visa petitions involving housing projects
Section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) is amended—
in subparagraph (C)(ii)—
in the subparagraph heading, by striking “and infrastructure projects” and inserting “, infrastructure projects, and housing projects”; and
by striking “or in an infrastructure project” and inserting “, an infrastructure project, or a housing project”;
in subparagraph (D)—
by redesignating clauses (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) as clauses (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), and (ix), respectively;
by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
“(iv) Housing project—The term housing project means any capital investment project for which an application has been filed or approved under subparagraph (F) that includes, as a primary component, the production, preservation, or rehabilitation of rental housing or housing available for purchase only for use as a principal residence.”
in subparagraph (E)—
in clause (ii)—
by redesignating subclauses (II) and (III) as subclauses (III) and (IV), respectively;
by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
“(II) shall prioritize the processing and adjudication of applications for approval of an investment and associated petitions for housing projects that are acquired through a Federal project-based assistance program, including—
“(aa) section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
“(bb) section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568);
“(cc) section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
“(dd) title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.);
“(ee) the HOME Investment Partnerships Act (title II of Public Law 101–625; 42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); and
“(ff) section 11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 12805 note).”
in subclause (III), as redesignated, by inserting “subject to subclauses (I) and (II)” before “may process”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(viii) Consultation and hiring—In reviewing applications for approval of an investment and associated petitions under this paragraph for housing projects, the Secretary may consult with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and hire such staff as may be necessary to effectively review and adjudicate such applications and associated petitions.”
Sec. 3 Paperwork Reduction Act exemption
During the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the requirements under chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the collection of information required under this Act, any amendment made by this Act, or any rule promulgated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement this Act or the amendments made by this Act, to the extent the Secretary determines that compliance with such requirements would impede the expeditious implementation of this Act or the amendments made by this Act.
Sec. 4 Annual report
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report to Congress that includes, with respect to the previous 12-month period—
the number of applications for approval of an investment and associated petitions submitted by eligible investors for housing projects pursuant to section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as amended by section 2;
the number of such applications and associated petitions that were approved;
the country of origin of eligible investors who submit petitions described in paragraph (1);
the aggregate number of housing units to be constructed for all housing projects included in approved applications under section 203(b)(5)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(F));
an assessment of any regulatory, programmatic, or other barriers that may prevent or hinder financing described in section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) for housing development, including for small and local developers;
an assessment of the impact of the amendments made by section 2 on the number of applications and associated petitions described in paragraph (2) received by the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
additional authorities needed by the Department of Homeland Security to better incentivize immigrant investments in housing projects;
Sec. 5 Government Accountability Office report
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter for the following 9 years, the Comptroller General of the United States shall—
review the reports submitted pursuant to section 4 to determine the effectiveness of the amendments made by section 2 on increasing immigrant investments in housing projects (as defined in section 203(b)(5)(D)(iv) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 2); and
submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives that describes the results of the review conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).