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	<title> - LAYING THE FOUNDATION: HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY FOR OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES</title>
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	[Senate Hearing 118-80]
	[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


	S. Hrg. 118-80

	LAYING THE FOUNDATION: HOUSING
	ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY
	FOR OLDER ADULTS AND
	PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

	=======================================================================

	HEARING

	BEFORE THE

	SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING

	UNITED STATES SENATE

	ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS


	FIRST SESSION

	__________

	WASHINGTON, DC

	__________

	JULY 20, 2023

	__________

	Serial No. 118-06

	Printed for the use of the Special Committee on Aging

	[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


	Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

	__________


	U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
	53-203 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023

	-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING

	ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania, Chairman

	KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
	RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
	ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts MARCO RUBIO, Florida
	MARK KELLY, Arizona RICK SCOTT, Florida
	RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia J.D. VANCE, Ohio
	JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska

	----------

	Elizabeth Letter, Majority Staff Director
	Matthew Sommer, Minority Staff Director

	C O N T E N T S

	----------

	Page

	Opening Statement of Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., Chairman...... 1
	Opening Statement of Senator Mike Braun, Ranking Member.......... 2

	PANEL OF WITNESSES

	Jenny Schuetz, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute Metro,
	Washington, D.C................................................ 4
	Allie Cannington, Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing, The
	Kelsey, San Francisco, California.............................. 6
	Rick Wajda, CEO, Indiana Builders Association, Fishers, Indiana.. 8
	Domonique Howell, Disability Housing Advocate, Philadelphia,
	Pennsylvania................................................... 10

	APPENDIX
	Closing Statement

	Closing Statement of Senator Mike Braun, Ranking Member.......... 33

	Prepared Witness Statements

	Jenny Schuetz, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute Metro,
	Washington, D.C................................................ 37
	Allie Cannington, Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing, The
	Kelsey, San Francisco, California.............................. 43
	Rick Wajda, CEO, Indiana Builders Association, Fishers, Indiana.. 60
	Domonique Howell, Disability Housing Advocate, Philadelphia,
	Pennsylvania................................................... 64

	Statements for the Record

	Alisa Grishman Statement......................................... 69
	Brenda Dare Statement............................................ 72
	Casper Colo Statement............................................ 74
	Diane Yaddow Statement........................................... 75
	HDC MidAtlantic Statement........................................ 76
	Inglis Statement................................................. 81
	Disability Options Network Statement............................. 84
	National Disability Rights Network Statement..................... 86
	Sandie Geib Statement............................................ 88
	Suzzanne Ott Statement........................................... 89
	Wendy Boyd Statement............................................. 90


	LAYING THE FOUNDATION: HOUSING
	ACCESSIBILITY AND AFFORDABILITY
	FOR OLDER ADULTS AND
	PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

	----------


	Thursday, July 20, 2023

	U.S. Senate
	Special Committee on Aging
	Washington, DC.
	The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., Room
	366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert P. Casey, Jr.,
	Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
	Present: Senator Casey, Blumenthal, Warren, Kelly, Warnock,
	Braun, Rick Scott, and Ricketts.

	OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR
	ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., CHAIRMAN

	The Chairman. The Senate Special Committee on Aging will
	come to order. Good morning and welcome to the Aging
	Committee's sixth hearing of 118th Congress. Today's hearing is
	Laying the Foundation: Housing, Accessibility, and
	Affordability for Older Adults and People with Disabilities.
	This hearing will also examine the importance of home
	modifications in supporting older adults and people with
	disabilities to remain in their homes. We know that stable,
	high quality housing is an essential human need and the
	foundation of community well-being.
	This is especially true for the millions of Americans who
	wish to age in place and people with disabilities who prefer to
	live in their communities. Home offers, of course, physical
	protection and connections to community, to work, to education,
	and of course, to family, but for millions of Americans,
	adequate housing is more of an aspiration than a reality. In
	particular, for too many older adults and people--too many
	older adults and people with disabilities cannot afford
	accessible housing.
	Many live in unsafe housing or institutions, even though
	they prefer to live in communities, the communities within
	which they raised their families. Accessible housing is a key
	feature that can assist people with disabilities and older
	adults to live in their own homes in chosen communities,
	something that research tells us over 90 percent prefer.
	An accessible home offers specific features or
	technologies, such as lower kitchen counters and sinks, wider
	doorways, and zero step showers. Twenty-six percent of people
	in our Nation have a disability. That is about 61 million
	Americans.
	By 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65,
	but less than five percent, less than five percent of the
	national housing supply is accessible, with less than one
	percent of housing stock accessible to wheelchair users.
	Today, we will hear from Domonique Howell from
	Philadelphia. She will share her story about experiencing
	homelessness after facing serious barriers to acquiring
	accessible housing. This, of course, and I think everyone would
	agree with this, is unacceptable.
	That is why in April, I introduced legislation entitled the
	Visitable Inclusive Tax Credit for Accessible Living Act, the
	so-called VITAL Act, Senate Bill 1377, which would add funding
	to the low-income housing tax credit program, the Nation's
	primary driver of affordable housing.
	This program does not currently have an accessibility
	standard, contributing to the severe shortage of accessible and
	affordable housing. That is why the VITAL Act would require
	that a percentage of homes built with this investment meet
	certain accessibility standards.
	We need to ensure that families have a real choice when it
	comes to the place that they call home. My legislation would
	ensure we are increasing the amount of accessible housing
	available for people with disabilities and older adults to meet
	their needs.
	Investments in accessible housing are central to
	guaranteeing better outcomes in health and satisfaction for
	both older adults and people with disabilities. Investing in
	accessible and affordable housing policies and programs is not
	only a lifesaving action for those Americans but will provide
	housing security for all.
	Whether it be for the young family who uses a stroller, the
	busy professional with a disability who wants to live near
	their work, or the recent retiree who is downsizing to age in
	place, all Americans, all Americans benefit from accessible
	housing. In recent history, we have seen advancements toward
	more accessible housing through efforts such as the Fair
	Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and, of
	course, the Olmstead Supreme Court decision.
	Congress must continue to support national advancements in
	accessible housing and align the needs of millions living with
	disabilities and our increasing aging population. I look
	forward to hearing from our witnesses today about these
	important issues, and I will turn to Ranking Member Braun.

	OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR
	MIKE BRAUN, RANKING MEMBER

	Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One thing I do as a
	Senator for Hoosiers is I travel and visit all 92 of our
	counties every year. We have also invited any Hoosier to come
	visit me in my hometown.
	When you do that, you get a lot of good input, and I can
	tell you that a few issues, and Ms. Cannington, you and I just
	talked about it earlier, and you said they all kind of
	intersect, but high cost of health care in our State is a big
	issue, access to it, how we spend our education dollars, which
	is the main responsibility of most state governments, and then
	you have got rural broadband in states like ours, and then the
	other thing, affordable housing.
	How we get there in terms of getting all four of them to be
	in the sweet spot of what one can afford is probably a goal
	that should be mostly the responsibility of states because they
	live within the framework of a balanced budget generally and
	are more sustainable and what might be there for future
	generations.
	It affects housing affordability, all walks of life,
	including older adults and people with disabilities. Under the
	Biden Administration, Americans are less able to afford a home
	than practically any other time in our history.
	A lot of times things we do here are well-intended, but you
	cannot do it by borrowing from future generations and dumping
	the amount of money we did into the economy. It has created
	inflation, which is a tax on everyone, and gosh, look what it
	has done to affordability.
	Spending policies, I think, have exacerbated an already
	unaffordable housing market. In 2021, when President Biden did
	take office, the average or the median home price was $369,000.
	Now it is $430,000, and if you are good at math at all, you
	know, in just that short a period of time, those are huge
	increases per year.
	Mortgage interest rates, which were around three percent,
	are now a little over seven percent on a thirty-year mortgage.
	That is pricing all kinds of people out of the market. Housing
	inventory, we know we need more of it. I hear it all the time.
	Even companies back in Indiana are trying to figure out how
	they can weigh into it.
	Estimates say the U.S. is between three and six million
	houses short of what the market needs, and many factors
	contribute to it, including regulatory burdens both Federal and
	State, infrastructure costs, supply chain constraints, largely
	may be created by how we navigated through COVID, workforce
	shortage, the number one thing I hear pre-COVID and post-COVID,
	and overall increasing costs of materials due to inflation. I
	think the solutions to all of these are probably left best to
	the laboratory of the states. In here, we ought to minimally
	have a guideline of regulations that are going to help, not
	make it even worse.
	Federal Government, I think too, can help generally on the
	main drivers of an economy that folks are wondering what do we
	have, by not spending and borrowing more, because you don't
	need a macroeconomics degree, that creates inflation. We did
	the exact opposite of that. I think we can get back on track.
	Another issue is when he signed the Inflation Reduction Act
	into law, which issued billions of dollars to encourage states
	to update their energy codes to the 2021 International Energy
	Conservation Code.
	I believe we've got to be conscious of climate. We want to
	make sure homes are built to where they are going to spend less
	on utilities, but not when it creates an upfront cost that even
	exacerbates more the affordability issue.
	Sometimes when you want to do something, you have got to
	make sure you get it--get the timing right, and now we need to
	aspire to that, but we shouldn't mandate it. Here is another
	issue: there was recent a ruling that the average American
	credit score is over 716. Interest rates have gotten higher,
	now we have had a ruling that punishes people that earn good
	credit scores to help subsidize others. I think that is the
	wrong way to accomplish maybe a goal that is noble to help
	those that need help affording a place to live, but not like
	that. This has passed to overturn that rule by a large
	bipartisan vote in the House. I would like to see that occur in
	the Senate too.
	I do look forward--sometimes we are at odds in terms of
	what we should do, but there is always practical legislation in
	the middle, and I would hope that we can have those
	conversations that get us there. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
	The Chairman. Ranking Member Braun, thanks very much. Now I
	will turn to the introduction of our witnesses.
	Our first witness is Dr. Jenny Schuetz. Dr. Schuetz is a
	Senior Fellow at Brookings Metro and works in urban economics
	and housing policy. Her research focuses on land use
	regulation, housing prices, urban amenities, and neighborhood
	change.
	Thank you for sharing your expertise and experience with
	us, Dr. Schuetz. Our second witness is Ms. Allie Cannington.
	Ms. Cannington is a Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing
	at the Kelsey, where she leads policy and advocacy efforts to
	advance disability forward housing solutions.
	She is dedicated to fueling justice movements for people
	with disabilities that are intersectional, sustainable and
	intergenerational. Thank you for being here, Ms. Carrington,
	and sharing your expertise and your experience with the
	Committee. I will turn next to Ranking Member Braun for an
	introduction.
	Senator Braun. It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Rick
	Wajda. He is the CEO of the Indiana Builders Association, one
	of the state's leading voices on residential construction in
	the housing industry.
	Rick has been with the Indiana Builders Association for
	over 20 years and will share his knowledge and experience with
	the Committee today. He joins us from Fishers, Indiana, not too
	far from his alma mater, Butler University, in Indianapolis.
	Thanks Rick for being here today.
	The Chairman. Thank you, Ranking Member Braun. Our final
	witness is Domonique Howell, whom I mentioned earlier.
	Domonique is an advocate for the civil rights of people with
	disabilities, and she works to educate others about the
	discrimination parents with disabilities face.
	She has personally experienced the barriers that people
	with disabilities confront in finding accessible housing. Thank
	you, Domonique, for being here today and for sharing your story
	with the Committee, and now we will start with Dr. Schuetz for
	your opening statement.

	STATEMENT JENNY SCHUETZ, PH.D., SENIOR FELLOW,
	BROOKINGS INSTITUTE METRO, WASHINGTON, D.C.

	Dr. Schuetz. Good morning, Chairman Casey, Ranking Member
	Braun, members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity
	to testify today on the important issue of accessible and
	affordable housing for older adults and people with
	disabilities. It is an honor to be here.
	My name is Jenny Schuetz. I am a Senior Fellow at Brookings
	Metro. My comments today will provide some broader context on
	housing challenges facing older adults and people with
	disabilities.
	Restrictive zoning makes it hard to produce enough housing
	to meet demand, especially accessible and affordable housing.
	Since the Great Recession, the U.S. has not built enough
	housing to keep pace with the demand created by job and
	population growth.
	Local governments across the U.S. have adopted restrictive
	zoning rules and complex discretionary development processes
	that decrease the amount of new construction and increase
	housing costs.
	Rules such as single-family exclusive zoning create direct
	barriers to building accessible homes that meet the needs of
	people with disabilities and older adults. Accessory dwelling
	units, duplexes and apartments, and elevator buildings are all
	critical parts of the housing ecosystem that supports safe,
	independent living, as well as informal caregiving within
	families.
	Rising housing costs create more financial stress for low-
	income households and people living on fixed incomes. The
	poorest 20 percent of households spend more than half of their
	income on housing costs, leaving too little money to cover
	other necessities. Rapidly rising housing costs are
	particularly challenging for older adults and people with
	disabilities who often live on fixed incomes.
	Among low-income people with disabilities, only 16 percent
	receive Federal housing subsidies. Two recent trends foreshadow
	greater housing insecurity among older adults than in previous
	generations. A larger share of older adults today are renters,
	due partly to the lingering effects of the foreclosure crisis.
	Older homeowners also have higher debt levels because they
	are more likely to have a mortgage and larger mortgage
	balances. Retrofitting existing homes and communities is
	essential to improving safety and accessibility. The U.S.
	housing stock is aging along with the population.
	Older homes are generally more affordable, but they are
	also more likely to have maintenance problems that can create
	unsafe or unhealthy living conditions. Much of the
	unsubsidized, affordable rental housing stock lacks
	accessibility features such as elevators and doorways wide
	enough to accommodate wheelchairs. Retrofitting millions of
	older homes is an enormous task that will require both private
	and public capital.
	An important policy consideration is how to balance the
	benefits of building codes and related regulations that require
	accessible features with the costs to property owners of
	conducting retrofits. Homes are only one piece of the built
	environment that impacts accessibility.
	Many older adults and people with disabilities cannot drive
	and therefore face challenges of safely navigating their
	communities. Relatively inexpensive and fast infrastructure
	investments could improve neighborhood safety and
	accessibility.
	These include improving sidewalk quality, extending the
	time allotted for pedestrians, crossing streets, and adding
	benches at bus stops. Removing regulatory barriers to
	neighborhoods serving retail would also make it easier for
	older adults and people with disabilities to reach shared
	community spaces, from shopping centers to libraries and parks.
	Congress can improve housing, accessibility, and affordability
	for older adults and people with disabilities through four
	channels.
	First, create financial incentives for local governments to
	revise their zoning to allow a wider range of accessible
	housing types. The bipartisan infrastructure law includes some
	models for how to do this.
	Second, HUD should provide technical assistance and clear
	guidance to local governments on the types of zoning and
	building code reforms that are most important to accessibility
	and affordability.
	Third, provide flexible financial support for low-income
	older adults and people with disabilities through increased
	funding for housing vouchers or targeted tax credits.
	Fourth, encourage accessibility retrofits for existing
	homes and neighborhoods, serving pedestrian infrastructure
	through funding already allocated in the bipartisan
	Infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Expanding
	the supply of safe, accessible, affordable housing is a
	critical quality of life issue for millions of older adults and
	people with disabilities.
	Once in a generation, Federal infrastructure investments
	offer a unique opportunity to upgrade the safety and
	accessibility of homes and neighborhoods. Accomplishing these
	goals will require sustained and coordinated efforts from
	Federal, State, and local governments, as well as the private
	and nonprofit sectors.
	Thank you for the opportunity to testify today, and I look
	forward to answering your questions.
	The Chairman. Dr. Schuetz, thanks very much for your
	testimony.
	Ms. Cannington.

	STATEMENT OF ALLIE CANNINGTON, SENIOR MANAGER OF

	ADVOCACY AND ORGANIZING, THE KELSEY,

	SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

	Ms. Cannington. Chairman Casey, Ranking Member Braun, and
	members of the Special Committee of Aging, thank you so much
	for inviting me to testify today.
	I sit before you both as the Senior Manager at the Kelsey
	and as a disabled person who has deeply felt the severe
	shortage of accessible, affordable--[technical problems]--in my
	own life and in the lives of people I know and love across the
	country. Co-led by people with and without disabilities, the
	Kelsey pioneers' accessible, affordable, and inclusive housing
	through public, private, and philanthropic partnerships to
	develop mixed income disability forward housing.
	We also advance market and policy conditions so that this
	type of housing can become the norm nationwide. Our country's
	housing crisis disproportionately impacts people with
	disabilities and older adults.
	This is why we are here today, and even more acutely, it
	impacts those who are black, brown, and indigenous. One in four
	adults are disabled, and two in five seniors have a disability.
	Disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty.
	No one living on the supplemental security income can
	afford housing in any U.S. market. People with disabilities
	experience the highest rates of housing discrimination, and
	less than five percent of our housing stock is accessible.
	At least half of those turning to shelters are disabled,
	and over 18 million people with disabilities are eligible for
	housing assistance, but not receiving it. Our country still
	upholds institutional bias, with at least 3.3 million disabled
	people and older adults stuck in institutional settings because
	there isn't the housing that they need in their own
	communities.
	We have failed millions, but there are tangible solutions
	that can be enacted now to create what we call a more
	disability forward housing future. Disability forward housing
	is housing that is affordable to people of all incomes,
	especially those who are extremely low income.
	It is accessible, located, designed, and built to meet a
	diverse range of accessibility needs from cognitive to chronic
	illness, to hearing, vision, and more. It is inclusive and
	which means housing that does not segregate or isolate but is
	mixed between people with and without disabilities and supports
	people to receive access to services in their own homes.
	Designing disability forward housing means designing better
	housing for everyone, people across geographies, incomes, and
	housing needs. It can include mixed income communities, with
	homes ranging from deeply affordable to essential workforce
	housing.
	It includes resident centered programing that brings
	elements of interdependence, informal support networks, access
	to services, and connected community living that benefit all.
	Designing for all kinds of bodies upfront can lower costs, but
	not planning ahead can lead to unscheduled maintenance and a
	hit to already limited operating budgets. Disability forward
	housing does not have to make a project cost more. When
	comparing the costs of our projects at the Kelsey to others,
	ours are cost competitive, proving that this is possible.
	We have learned through our developments and technical
	assistance, as well as through the Kelsey's housing design
	standards for accessibility and inclusion, that with the right
	partners and investments, disability forward housing can be
	scaled to transform the lives of people with and without
	disabilities.
	From America's city centers to rural communities, we need
	though congressional and regulatory action to make this future
	possible. We have a legal framework to mandate fair and
	integrated housing, but we have never adequately invested in
	the housing infrastructure to make these rights a reality for
	the ever-growing disabled population.
	We can improve and invest in programs that we know work but
	have been woefully underfunded. Like HUD's Section 811, 202,
	the HUD Service Coordination Program, housing choice vouchers,
	including as well as specifically the mainstream voucher
	program, as well as innovative project-based subsidy programs,
	as well as transit oriented development and the Housing Trust
	Fund, as well as public housing.
	We must invest in and strengthen Medicaid, home and
	community-based services, including housing related services.
	We also can embed disability forward solutions across the
	entire housing infrastructure, like within the low-income
	housing tax credit or tax which funds the vast majority of
	affordable housing and supports over six million jobs annually.
	Passing legislation like the VITAL Act Senate Bill 1377
	would finance up to 970,000 more affordable, accessible homes
	over 10 years. It would be a critical step forward. We can
	increase requirements and incentivize access and inclusion
	across all Federal programs and better align HUD and Medicaid.
	We can build new programs that make the rights of community
	living for disabled people a reality. This includes creating
	voucher programs that are more explicitly for disabled people
	of all ages who qualify for Medicaid, home and community-based
	services, and we can create a national home modification
	program for people who every day are left to their own accord
	to make essential changes to their homes.
	As well as we can establish HUD senior leadership to
	oversee disability forward solutions are embedded across the
	agency. Through all these interventions and more, you can move
	us toward a more disability forward housing future. I look
	forward to answering questions.
	The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Cannington, and we
	will move now to our third witness, Mr. Wajda. I want to make
	sure I am pronouncing that right.
	Mr. Wajda. Yes, sir.
	The Chairman. Thank you.

	STATEMENT OF RICK WAJDA, CEO, INDIANA BUILDERS
	ASSOCIATION, FISHERS, INDIANA

	Mr. Wajda. Thank you, Chairman Casey, Ranking Member Braun,
	and members of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging. I am
	pleased to appear before you today on behalf of the Indiana
	Builders Association to share our views on the state of housing
	and the barriers our industry is currently facing to provide
	safe and affordable housing at all price points, and for all
	sectors of the homebuying public, including older Americans.
	My name is Rick Wajda, and I am the Chief Executive Officer
	for the Indiana Builders Association. The Indiana Builders
	Association represents over 2,600 member companies engaged in
	the residential and commercial construction industry across the
	State of Indiana, and we are also affiliated with the National
	Association of Home Builders.
	The primary challenge to the building industry is the lack
	of attainable, affordable housing in the single family and
	multifamily markets. These challenges are consistent across the
	board for rental units as well as for sale housing.
	Indiana has done an excellent job over the years of
	attracting employers to our communities and making our State a
	great place to live, but with low inventory and rising material
	and labor cost, our members are having a difficult time
	providing workforce housing to Hoosiers.
	Record low inventory and a building industry that has not
	met current demand for new housing at various price points has
	created a shortage of available workforce housing. Estimates
	indicate a shortage of new homes across the State of 30,000 to
	50,000 units.
	Put into context, Indiana needs roughly 18,000 to 22,000
	new houses a year to meet average demand and only produced over
	18,000 new homes in 2020 for the first time since 2007. Why
	were home builders underbuilding coming out of the recession?
	After the downturn, the number of home builders declined
	significantly, and the availability of financing for
	acquisition, development, and construction activities were
	severely constrained. These factors significantly limited the
	production of new housing when housing demand was increasing
	across the country.
	According to the National Association of Home Builders'
	priced out report, the 2023 median new home price in Indiana is
	now $397,000. The income needed to qualify for the median new
	home price is roughly $120,000. Of the approximately 2.8
	million households in Indiana, over 75 percent are unable to
	afford the median price of a new home.
	These numbers hold true across the country as well. In
	Pennsylvania, 86 percent of the households are unable to afford
	the median price of a new home. Ohio, 81 percent. Nebraska, 75
	percent. Arizona, 81 percent. The U.S. average is 73 percent
	for households unable to afford the median price of a new home.
	On top of these already challenging dynamics, any increase
	in housing costs push potential buyers out of the market. In
	Indiana, for every $1,000 increase in the cost of a house, over
	3,000 households are priced out of the market. That number is
	over 140,000 nationally. Take, for example, inflationary
	pressures and rising mortgage rates.
	In March 2020, the new median house price in Indiana was
	$296,000 and the interest rate on a 30-year mortgage was
	roughly 3.5 percent. Assuming a 20 percent down payment, the
	monthly payment, excluding taxes and property insurance, was
	just over $1,000 a month. Today, that same house cost nearly
	$400,000 or 34 percent more, and the interest on that same 30-
	year mortgage is 7.25 percent, more than double the rate. As a
	result of these increases, the new monthly mortgage payment
	today is over $2,100, $1,100 more a month for roughly the same
	house.
	The fact is, homeownership is unattainable for many across
	Indiana and the country, including two earner households, due
	to tight supply, inflationary pressures, regulatory costs, and
	rising mortgage rates.
	Which is why we must look at reducing the cost of housing
	at all levels. According to the National Association of Home
	Builders Economics Group, nearly 25 percent of the cost of a
	new home nationwide can be attributed to regulations.
	Regulations come in many forms and can be imposed by various
	levels of Government.
	At the local level, jurisdictions may charge permit fees,
	hook-up fees and impact fees, and establish development
	construction standards that either directly increase cost of
	builders and developers, or cause delays that translate to
	higher cost. State and Federal governments may be involved in
	this process directly or indirectly.
	For example, restrictive building codes add thousands of
	dollars to the cost of the house, making it that much more
	difficult to qualify for a mortgage. In terms of identifying
	solutions to improve affordability, we must rebuild the
	industry's infrastructure, which includes our labor force and
	reliable sources of lending and building materials.
	All regulations should be examined for their impact on
	housing affordability. Communities can reduce the cost of
	producing new housing by eliminating fee increases, assist with
	infrastructure cost, and allowing for higher density housing
	where the market demands it. Our aging population may want to
	age in place or age in community.
	Creativity and options to allow this must be explored and
	implemented. In Indiana, the General Assembly recently
	concluded and passed legislation that creates a residential
	infrastructure fund to the tune of $75 million over the next
	two years to assist in communities building out infrastructure
	for residential housing.
	Think sewers, roads, sidewalks, etc. This transformative
	piece of legislation will open areas for development and reduce
	the infrastructure costs currently paid for upfront by the
	builder developer, but ultimately passed on in the cost of the
	home to the homebuyer.
	In conclusion, our citizens, and particularly older
	Americans, want to choose where they live and the type of home
	that best meets their needs. Our industry stands ready to
	assist in helping to expand the availability of safe and
	affordable housing. Thank you, Chairman Casey, Ranking Member
	Braun, and members of the Committee for your time today.
	The Chairman. Thank you very much. Our final witness is
	Domonique Howell.

	STATEMENT OF DOMONIQUE HOWELL, DISABILITY HOUSING
	ADVOCATE, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

	Ms. Howell. Chairman Casey, Ranking Member Braun, and
	members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, thank you for
	inviting me here today to share my story. My name is Domonique
	Howell. I am a disability advocate from Philadelphia,
	Pennsylvania. I am an Independent Living Specialist at Liberty
	Resources in a center for independent living in Southeastern
	Pennsylvania.
	Today, I am here to speak about the importance of
	affordable, accessible housing in Philadelphia and nationwide.
	With a population of 12.90 million residents as of 2021 in
	Pennsylvania, disabled residents make up at least 25 percent of
	the population, which equates to 2,677,350 residents.
	I feel that it is imperative to focus on the needs of the
	disability community, while also understanding that it is not
	just a regional issue but a national one. Many of you may have
	realized that affordable, accessible housing in Pennsylvania
	does not meet the demands of disabled residents in need.
	For decades, it has been affordable housing shortage which
	has continually led to chronic housing insecurity. This
	includes homelessness and evictions because many residents
	cannot afford the rising rent cost on fixed incomes.
	For example, last year, the Independent Living Services
	Department of Liberty Resources, Inc. received an average of
	100 calls per month for disabled people needing housing. This
	is especially true in Philadelphia, including myself.
	Five years ago, my family and I, which included my then
	three-year-old daughter and my aging grandmother, were
	wrongfully evicted due to a decision made by the owners of the
	property. They no longer wanted to make repairs to my
	inaccessible apartment, which was required by the Philadelphia
	Housing Authority to continue to receive payments.
	The owners made the decision that they would no longer
	accept the subsidy which led to our eviction because we can no
	longer afford market rate rent on our own. With the help of
	some advocacy, my grandmother was able to be housed once we
	were evicted.
	Unfortunately for my daughter and I, we were not as lucky
	and were denied entry into the Office of Homeless Services
	twice because I am a recipient of home and community based
	services. I receive attentive care hours.
	I was seeing home and community-based services so that I
	can remain living independently in the community. To offer the
	homeless services intakes, they have stated that they cannot
	enter the shelter because of the services I receive.
	After getting legal representation and advocating, I was
	able to enter the shelter, but not without lack of
	accessibility for a year. I slept in my power wheelchair even
	while in the shelter. After fighting, advocating, and sharing
	my personal story, my daughter and I now have a place to call
	home.
	Even though my daughter and I now have a place to call
	home, it does not come without accessibility challenges.
	Unfortunately, even though the building we live in has other
	tenants with disabilities, the elevator is constantly broken,
	which leaves many residents, including myself, trapped in our
	homes, sometimes for weeks on end.
	My entire life, I have had to make the decision between
	accessibility and affordability, as so many other Americans
	with disabilities do. As an example, for the first time in my
	life, I now have a bathroom that is accessible enough for my
	wheelchair to enter and be able to close the door.
	As an advocate and activist personally and professionally,
	one of my primary focuses is to continue housing justice,
	because human housing is a human right and unfortunately for
	too many Americans, especially people with disabilities, are
	not being equally granted the right of housing they can afford,
	that is accessible.
	It is my opinion that Pennsylvania and other states across
	the country should decrease their focus on market value
	development and increase their efforts to developing
	affordable, accessible housing to match the needs of its
	residents.
	It is my hope that as members of Senate, you decide to take
	a stance and work diligently to help people with disabilities
	across the United States with the right of affordable,
	accessible housing. Thank you for your time and I look forward
	to answering any questions you may have. Thank you.
	The Chairman. Ms. Howell, thanks very much for your
	testimony. I wanted to start a round of questions. My first
	question is for Ms. Cannington. We know that the people with
	disabilities face hardships. I think that is a real
	understatement. They face those hardships at a rate that is
	higher than people without disabilities. For example, they are
	twice as likely to live in poverty, to face a persistent wage
	gap, and to struggle to afford housing costs.
	We have got to do more to ensure that Federal housing
	assistance programs are both, as we have said a number of times
	today, accessible and affordable for people with disabilities.
	I mentioned LIHTC, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. It is the
	Nation's primary driver of new stock, affordable housing.
	This is a good program. It has had bipartisan support for
	many, many years. LIHTC provides tax credits to developers who
	build new housing for low-income earners, but currently there
	is no requirement under the program as it exists today to build
	disability friendly housing. It is just a gap in the program.
	The VITAL Act that I have introduced would have an
	accessibility standard for that tax credit program, ensuring
	that investment and building of new, affordable, and accessible
	housing is possible, so here is my question, Ms. Cannington,
	are states meeting the needs of people with disabilities
	through the LIHTC program?
	Ms. Cannington. Thank you, Senator Casey, for your
	question, so as you spoke to, LIHTC is the primary driver of
	affordable housing, and through LIHTC, all states are allocated
	tax credits, and each state, through their qualified allocation
	plan, can decide where those tax credits can be prioritized.
	There are 28 states that completely, at the state level,
	also lack accessibility requirements, but then there are some
	states that are leading the way, that are adding both
	accessibility requirements and incentives, but the bottom line
	is that disabled people and older adults, no matter where they
	live in the country, should expect a standard of accessibility
	in the housing stock.
	By reforming the low income housing tax credit to both
	increase the requirement, as well as incentivize developers to
	build more accessible and adaptive housing, the disabled people
	and older adults will increase their--our confidence level in
	the standard, as well as create more uniformity across the
	development field about what is accessible housing and how can
	LIHTC ensure that it drives not just affordable housing but
	more accessible and adaptable to all.
	The Chairman. You said 28 states----
	Ms. Cannington. Completely lack tax credit accessibility
	requirements, and then there is 22 states that vary in their
	accessibility requirements, and so, we look to the Federal
	Government for leadership in that regard.
	The Chairman. Well, that is an interesting breakdown of all
	the states. I guess one question I have is what are the
	characteristics of housing that is designed for the needs of
	people with disabilities? Describe what would be, for lack of a
	better word, the ideal circumstance.
	Ms. Cannington. Thank you, Chairman, so at the Kelsey, when
	we talk about disability forward housing design, we look at
	cross disability access, so that means not just meeting the
	minimum code requirements when they do exist, which is mobility
	and sensory, so important, but the 61 million disabled people
	vary. We are an incredibly diverse group.
	We break down those characteristics of access in six main
	impact areas, so hearing and acoustics, vision, health and
	wellness, cognitive access, and support needs. Some of the
	features and characteristics that I want to lift up that are--
	that go beyond code requirements, but by embedding them from
	the start doesn't have an additional cost are things like plain
	language leases.
	Are things like wayfinding in a building, that when you
	implement this accessibility, these cross disability access
	characteristics, it doesn't just benefit those groups, but
	benefits all?
	The Chairman. Thanks very much. I will turn to Ranking
	Member Braun.
	Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Wajda, you
	talked about in Indiana, the median home price, $397,000. I
	mean, that just seems outrageously high as a median, and that
	is actually higher than what the median is across the country.
	Interest rates, we talked about where they are. But
	regulation, as it comes from here especially. Can you cite a
	couple of the key regulations that drive costs up? And
	generally, they are always well intended, but then can work at
	cross-purposes for the affordability factor.
	If you would highlight a couple of the most challenging
	ones from here, and then likewise coming from our own State.
	Mr. Wajda. Sure. Thank you, Senator Braun. The regulations
	are a huge factor, right. Take you roughly 25 percent of the
	cost of a home is due to regulations. I like to say that is no
	sticks and that is no bricks going into the house.
	That is simply Government regulations that further reduce
	housing affordability across this great country, and so, if you
	look at the Federal level, it could be regulations dealing with
	storm water.
	You know, recently a Supreme Court decided case, the
	Sackett case dealing with wetlands on private property are all
	regulations that are ultimately added to the cost. When a
	homebuilder and a developer is looking to develop a piece of
	ground, they have to take into account those regulations and
	pass those costs on to the homebuyer, that continues to raise
	the cost of housing.
	At the local level, a lot of times we see architectural
	standards baked into local ordinances, so certain communities
	want housing in their community to look a certain way. They may
	want all brick houses, they may want certain roof pitches,
	three car silo garages, larger lot densities.
	Those are all things that we can provide as home buyers to
	the consumer and to the public, but those come at a cost, and
	so, if we can get creative at the local level and communities
	can start to look at reducing lot sizes and allowing smaller
	houses to be built in their communities, we think we can
	attempt to drive down the cost of housing.
	Senator Braun. I want to give a shout out to a company in
	Indiana, the Cook Medical Group, who does medical device
	manufacturing as its business, but it has taken on trying to
	make affordable housing something that they are going to try to
	make--weigh in on, and in talking to Steve Ferguson, the CEO of
	the group, he said they found a formula to get housing in a
	slab home, three bedrooms, and I have seen them, and they are
	nice starter homes, for between $185,000 and 215,000.
	Which all of a sudden, if you are there, even with today's
	interest rates, look what you are doing in terms of
	affordability. I don't know how far that goes into the income
	quartiles, but if you could do that--and he said the single
	biggest factor was getting the local jurisdiction to stub in
	utilities, which most local jurisdictions can, and then it
	enabled him to be able to experiment to get homes built in that
	range. Does that happen much across Indiana, or would that be
	the exception rather than the rule?
	Mr. Wajda. I would say, Senator Braun, that is the
	exception rather than the rule, but it is certainly a creative
	approach that I think many large employers may want to look. If
	they need workforce, they are going to need to have some sort
	of cooperative agreement for housing for their workers.
	Senator Braun and Chairman Casey, you have a lot in common
	in terms of the long rich history in your states of the steel
	mills, and a lot of those communities were built with the
	assistance of those steel mills back in there to make sure that
	they had affordable housing for their workers close to the
	factories, and maybe we have got to take a look at some of
	those cooperative partnerships moving forward with our
	employment community.
	Senator Braun. Well, I think that is one example to where
	you don't have to look here. You can take that issue into your
	own hands, and we have had measurable results. I want to get
	final question on inflation, and that robs across the board
	purchasing power. It has largely offset any of the wage gains
	that we have made.
	COVID exposed a lot of places where employers need to
	acknowledge that if you don't pay a living wage, you are not
	only going to be losing the ability to have an affordable home,
	many other issues as well.
	I challenge employers throughout the country to make sure
	to take that into consideration, but what is the current status
	of inflation impacting building materials? Are we coming back
	down? Is something within sight of where we will get back to
	where we were pre-COVID?
	Mr. Wajda. I think, Senator Braun, lumber prices certainly
	have come back down, but we have seen increases in other
	building materials that have continued to drive the cost of
	housing up. We have not seen that stabilized yet.
	As you see, you know, maybe the price of wood and lumber
	dropping back to some pre-COVID levels, but we have also seen
	those increases in other products that continue to challenge
	the market, and certainly, you mentioned with mortgage rates
	going up, right, the challenge to get somebody qualified for an
	entry level home in the United States of America is very
	difficult right now.
	We need to do everything we can to try to drive those rates
	down and get the cost of materials down so we can build more
	houses.
	Senator Braun. Thank you.
	Mr. Wajda. Thank you.
	The Chairman. Thanks, Ranking Member Braun. I will start
	another round of questions, and now, we will be waiting for,
	and are waiting for other Senators to appear at the hearing so
	they can do their questions.
	We will have some who will appear in this segment of the
	hearing, and as some of you might know, we will have to take,
	Ranking Member Braun and I will have to take a break to go down
	to a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, so going
	to a HELP Committee markup where we are considering
	legislation, pandemic, all hazards legislation, that we have
	got to get done today.
	We will take a break and come back, and I think at that
	point we will have other Senators. But for the time being, I
	just have a few more for this round. Ms. Howell, I will start
	with you. As you know, many people with disabilities and older
	adults prefer to remain in their homes.
	We heard from Ms. Cannington, the current housing stock is
	largely inaccessible, forcing many to leave their communities
	for congregate settings, which in many instances would be a
	nursing home if you are an older adult. We must ensure that
	older adults and people with disabilities can safely age in
	place and aren't forced to live in an institutional setting
	because their home can't support their needs.
	Domonique, I would ask you, how does the opportunity to
	have an accessible home impact your ability to remain in your
	own home and community?
	Ms. Howell. Well, the opportunity that I have been afforded
	to have an accessible home has allowed me to be a productive
	member of society, a great advocate, and an even better mother.
	Without the opportunity to have an accessible home, I would
	not be able to do any of those things. I would not be able to
	be an independent living specialist. I would not be able to
	fight for housing justice, and I would not be able to be a
	loving, supportive parent.
	The Chairman. It is pretty fundamental just getting through
	your day and being a parent is so difficult. I was noting in
	your testimony that you said at the end of the third paragraph,
	``I was able to enter the shelter, but not without lack of
	accessibility. For a year I slept on my power wheelchair even
	while in the shelter.'' I can't imagine a year like that, but I
	hope--and it seems like things are a little better for you
	today.
	Ms. Howell. Things are wonderful.
	The Chairman. That is great.
	Ms. Howell. A Full job and a full life, so I am blessed,
	but there are many Americans that are not afforded the
	opportunity, and so that is why I am here today. Thank you for
	your question.
	The Chairman. I will next turn to Dr. Schuetz. I wanted to
	ask you about home modifications, which is part of the
	discussion.
	People with disabilities of all ages need safe housing that
	supports their ability to live in their communities, but many
	live in homes not designed for their needs, and often they
	struggle to afford necessary home modifications like installing
	a wheelchair ramp or a zero-step shower.
	These modifications help these Americans prevent accidents
	and maintain their independence. To help constituents,
	primarily older adults and people with disabilities as well as
	veterans, connect to resources so they can live and age in
	place, our Committee offers a home modification resource guide.
	I am just holding it up. It is entitled, Modifying Your
	Home for Accessibility and Safety, and this particular version
	says, resources for Pennsylvanians. The table of contents kind
	of says it all.
	There is a section or a chapter on resources for veterans,
	resources for rural homeowners, resources for SSI
	beneficiaries, for older adults, for people with disabilities.
	Just by way of example, I was looking at the section on
	resources for rural homeowners.
	This is how it starts. It says, the Section 504 Home Repair
	Program provides loans and grants to low-income homeowners to
	repair, improve, and modernize their homes. It also provides
	grants to older and very low-income homeowners to improve
	health and safety standards.
	This is particularly focused on Americans who are in rural
	communities. One of my constituents, Suzanne from Venango
	County, that is just North of Pittsburgh, told me how her
	husband uses a wheelchair, but because the doors are not wide
	enough from their home, he can't use it in the house.
	She said he has to, ``crawl on his hands and knees to get
	inside the house and move around.'' Suzanne and her family use
	the Home Modifications brochure to find resources to widen
	their doorways and install stairlifts. She remarked how these
	changes will allow her husband to, ``truly be independent,''
	and to get around and do as he pleases.
	Dr. Schuetz, how can we better strengthen and streamline
	national resources for home modifications?
	Dr. Schuetz. Thanks for that question. Home modifications
	are a really important part of making our existing stock more
	accessible. It is often complicated. As Ms. Cannington said,
	there are a lot of different kinds of modifications that would
	be necessary, and it is a question of matching the home
	characteristics to the resident and to their needs.
	It is often hard to come up with a fairly direct sort of
	cookie cutter version of this that can be implemented
	everywhere. We do know that some general rules of thumb for
	making programs more accessible.
	First, to make sure that there is targeted marketing and
	outreach to eligible households so that they know that these
	products are available.
	Second, to make sure that the application process is as
	easy and straightforward as possible. Reduce the administrative
	burden so it is easy for people to access the resources that
	they are eligible for.
	Third, to make sure that there are trusted intermediaries
	who could help doing the contracting work to provide good
	quality work at fair prices and make sure that people aren't
	overpaying for those services, so those are good general rules
	of thumb for making the program more accessible and making sure
	that the funding is spent well.
	The Chairman. Thank you, doctor. Ranking Member Braun.
	Senator Braun. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When I do visit all
	92 counties in our State, by far the issue I hear even above
	and beyond rural broadband, affordable housing, would be
	workforce.
	That was pre-COVID. It is probably mentioned twice as often
	now. In our State, we had 65,000 jobs that needed a better high
	school education, basic life skills. When I went to high
	school, you could take engine mechanics.
	You could take wood or metal shop. You could learn to weld.
	You had those kinds of parts of your curriculum, and I think
	prepared you whether you are going to enlist, go into
	employment right out of high school, or get further education.
	Where are we at in our own State? I know when I was in the
	State Legislature, it was always talked about. It seemed like
	we never kind of aggregated our efforts toward it, and how big
	a deal is it? Do we have enough electricians and plumbers and
	let alone all the other kind of skills you need to build a
	home? How are we doing in Indiana?
	Mr. Wajda. Great question, Senator Braun, and the
	challenges are certainly there in all sectors of the
	construction industry, whether it is residential construction,
	commercial construction, road building.
	You know, for example, our membership in our association
	was over 7,000 member companies across the State of Indiana
	before the Great Recession. Now we have shy of 3,000 members. A
	lot of those companies closed their doors. A lot of those folks
	went to a different occupation and didn't come back into the
	construction industry.
	We have an aging workforce that is aging out of the
	construction industry, and we haven't backfilled enough
	positions with our younger generations that--to let them know
	there are great careers in the construction industry and can
	make a very good living for themselves and their families if
	that is the pathway that they desire.
	We are making a very strong, concerted effort with all of
	our partners in the construction industry, commercial union,
	nonunion, and residential as well, to let them know there are
	great careers out there. You can make a very good living. If
	you choose to go to a four-year institution, that is great, but
	you don't have to.
	You can go in and become an electrician, a plumber. We need
	more of those than you can imagine right now. They are in high
	demand, and if you are willing to get a little dirty and work
	hard, you can have a great living for yourself and your family.
	Senator Braun. Well, it is good to let that out there so
	people know that is a place to go, and where the cost of post-
	secondary education has gone--is pricing itself out of the
	market. We are going to have to--you know, STEM degrees are
	under produced in Indiana, for instance, and we need more of
	them to fill that high demand, very high pay niche, but then
	you have got a high demand, high wage jobs that even through
	COVID have become more so, and if we, through the guidance that
	you get in high school, companies need to reach out to their
	middle schools and high schools to get involved.
	Garrett High School, for instance, near Fort Wayne, they
	bought acreage next to their high school and they build a home
	each year, and the kids love it. They are going to make more
	money in many cases than most four-year degrees would produce,
	and they are going to have a job from the day they get their
	diploma.
	A job that can pay for the things you need in this life, so
	I think education has got to come along to be part of the
	solution, because if you are not getting enough, you are going
	to have to pay even more to get people into the field, and I
	remember too Indiana Manufacturers Association, they wanted
	just the school system to produce that perfect employ mix that
	they needed.
	Well, that wasn't happening. That was as recently as eight
	years ago. I see that occurring too in some of the companies
	that are having the least amount of trouble hiring people are
	communicating with their local school systems, and then kids,
	they get those general high schools, and the parents get the
	information of high demand, high wage cost of education, career
	wages. We can do a better job of getting people in places where
	we need it, and housing would be one of those places.
	It seems like we have got a lot of room to improve as well,
	but it does look like we are making steps in the right
	direction.
	Mr. Wajda. Senator, I would agree, and right as I mentioned
	earlier, with the loss of so many subcontractors and building
	industry professionals coming out of the last recession, if you
	have--if you are a residential homebuilder and you call five
	plumbers and get quotes for a project, you are going to get a
	competitive bid.
	Today there might only be one plumber in town to give you
	that bid, and so, all those factors go into the affordability
	challenges that we are seeing today as we need more workers, we
	need more competition to try to continue to drive that cost of
	providing that service.
	Senator Braun. That is very good. Thank you.
	The Chairman. Thank you, Ranking Member Braun. As I said,
	now we will take a break. The Committee will recess until 11:00
	a.m.
	[Recess.]
	The Chairman. The Committee will now resume the hearing,
	Laying the Foundation. Housing, Accessibility, and
	Affordability for Older Adults and People with Disabilities. I
	will turn to my colleague, Senator Kelly, because he was here
	when I walked in the door and he is, as always, on time.
	Senator Kelly.
	Senator Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Schuetz, and
	Ms. Cannington, Mr. Wajda--did I pronounce that right--and Ms.
	Howell, thank you, all of you, for being here today. This is a
	very important issue.
	This question is for Dr. Schuetz. My State of Arizona is
	currently dealing with a rather historic heat wave multiple
	days in a row in Phoenix, where the temperature has hit at
	least 110 degrees. The other day when I was there, it was 118
	and it has been above 110 pretty much every day of the month
	here in July.
	The National Weather Service indicates that temperatures
	are going to remain above average for the rest of the month,
	and you have probably seen some of these headlines, and I
	expect you have also seen headlines on the study that found out
	that if there is a blackout in Phoenix during a heat wave, 50
	percent of the city's population could possibly need emergency
	medical attention.
	Phoenix has a population of over--Maricopa County is about
	half the population of the State, so over three million people.
	Now, we are fortunate that Phoenix has a pretty strong
	electrical grid, but these extreme weather events are happening
	more frequently, and the low temperatures aren't really that
	low anymore.
	We know that older adults are at risk due to extreme heat,
	and if you are in an older home, you are more likely not to
	have air conditioning. We have seen that last week with some
	individuals. You are also not likely to have effective
	insulation in an older home or you are not likely to have
	window shading, all of which can become very dangerous in these
	times of extreme heat.
	The Federal Government, by the way, supports weatherization
	assistance, which can make homes safer and better prepared to
	respond to extreme weather events, but Dr. Schuetz, are we
	maximizing the use of these resources from the Federal
	Government that supports weatherization assistance?
	Dr. Schuetz. That is a great question. Thanks, Senator
	Kelly. The short answer is no, we are not doing a great job of
	getting the weatherization money into the hands of people who
	need it and into homes to provide all the sorts of adaptive
	features that you mentioned. We talked before the recess that
	there are a number of ways that in general home retrofits could
	be made easier.
	The weatherization program is undersubscribed. A lot of
	people who would be eligible for assistance don't know that
	they are eligible and so don't apply. It is a very onerous
	process to apply and get access to that, to go through the
	screening process for income, to have the home energy audit
	done.
	Thinking about ways to make that easier to access. This
	also should work nicely with some of the funding in the
	Inflation Reduction Act that is more focused on energy
	efficiency.
	The two of those together, so things like insulation and
	replacing windows and doors, upgrading heating and cooling
	systems, particularly cooling systems in Arizona, those are
	really important for making the homes safer and healthier for
	people, and bringing down also energy usage so that people are
	spending less on their energy bill and the system stays
	current.
	Senator Kelly. Have there been any surveys done to try to
	determine how many--like what percentage of the population that
	is eligible even knows--know that these programs exist?
	Dr. Schuetz. I would have to look to see. I mean, the
	programs are pretty undersubscribed. Each state administers the
	weatherization assistance program a little bit differently, and
	so, some states have been more proactive about doing outreach.
	Maryland has done quite a lot of that to encourage people who
	are eligible to know about it, but that is a great question. I
	can look up those figures for you.
	Senator Kelly. Okay, thank you, and miss--or Dr. Schuetz,
	on a different but somewhat related subject, you know, one of
	the things I hear from affordable housing stakeholders all the
	time is the need for zoning reform to allow for some creative
	solutions to build new affordable housing.
	I had some, you know, folks in my office just yesterday,
	including a woman who was--has been homeless, and we were
	discussing, you know, how do we get more affordable housing in
	the State of Arizona. One of the suggestions and one of the
	things that came up, you know, was something that Tucson,
	Arizona, locally did, which was allowing for the construction
	of accessory dwelling units, ADUs, on single family properties,
	but that is not statewide, and these independent living
	situations are popular and carry a lot of benefits, including
	proximity to family caregivers to support older adults and
	individuals with disabilities.
	Dr. Schuetz, in your testimony, I understand you have
	highlighted house zoning rules that prohibit all structures
	except single family detached homes create direct barriers to
	building accessible homes.
	Recognizing that so much of housing policy happens at a
	state and local level, can you expand on your recommendations
	for how the Federal Government can support or incentivize state
	and local efforts to pursue zoning reform?
	Dr. Schuetz. Absolutely. There is actually a lot of
	experimentation going on at the state and local level. Places
	like Tucson, states like Utah, that have been doing state level
	reform, and one of the really useful things that HUD could do
	is keep track of all of the reforms that are going on, make
	sure that the lessons we are learning for what works and what
	doesn't in different housing markets is accessible.
	Providing really simple, straightforward guidance. If you
	want to make ADUs work, here is a two pager of the do's and
	don'ts so that the state and local officials can get access to
	that. There is a lot of interest by elected officials at the
	state and local level in learning more about how this works and
	there isn't really a good source of information or technical
	assistance.
	That would be a very easy thing that HUD could do more of,
	in combination with targeting some of the transportation and
	infrastructure funds, to encourage more zoning reform.
	Senator Kelly. We could probably do that even without
	legislation, I would think. I mean, just encouraging HUD to do
	that, so I will make sure that my staff works with you, and we
	can try to address this issue. Thank you.
	The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Kelly, so I turn next to
	Senator Ricketts.
	Senator Ricketts. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank all of
	our witnesses for being here today. I want to build on what
	Senator Kelly was talking there with regard to zoning. You
	know, owning a home is part of the American dream.
	When I talk to my constituents, specifically in Omaha, who
	are home builders, one of the challenges is they talk to me
	about is all the extra red tape that has come over the past
	several years with regard to, you know, not only the zoning,
	but all the regulations that go along with the codes and so
	forth like that, and that that is creating a barrier to
	building affordable housing.
	That would impact our seniors, and so, Mr. Wajda, you are
	with the homebuilders as well. A lot of my constituents tell me
	that the things, the regulations they face are local examples
	of what the State or the Federal government is promoting, and
	that is creating some of the costs and the burdens that they
	face.
	Can you talk to me a little about what can the Federal
	Government be doing to maybe help with cutting that red tape
	and helping our homebuilders build more affordable homes?
	Mr. Wajda. Sure, Senator Ricketts. Thank you for the
	question, and a great example at the Federal level is
	uncoupling some legislation that has been passed that requires
	states and local communities to adopt the most recent addition
	of the building codes.
	For example, the adoption of the 2021 International Energy
	Conservation Code can add as much as $31,000 to the price of a
	new home and can take as long as 90 years for homeowners to see
	a payback on their investment.
	At a time when we are facing an affordability crisis across
	the country, passing the most recent addition of an updated
	energy code, which does very little to increase the energy
	efficiency in already efficient new construction--I think, you
	know, we could see as a country, much bigger bang for your
	buck, looking at retrofitting some of those older homes, as we
	talked about and some of the weatherization programs and others
	that could really increase energy efficiency but not saddle
	potential new home buyers of new homes from those increased
	cost.
	Senator Ricketts. You know, was there a cost benefit
	analysis done on that? I mean, because the numbers are getting
	pretty shocking, that would increase the cost of a home by that
	much when there are lower costs, readily available ways to be
	able to help improve on energy efficiency. Was there a cost
	benefit analysis done on that?
	Mr. Wajda. Yes. I think they look at some of those things
	and most codes are then adopted, the international codes are
	then adopted by states uniformed or they make tweaks to those
	depending on which state you are from and, or in local
	communities.
	A lot of state and local communities may take the
	international code and then change that to try to reduce those
	cost increases at their local level, but you know, we work very
	closely with our National Association to make sure that
	policymakers are aware of when new regulations are going to be
	passed, what that impact is going to be on their constituents
	in their home states.
	Senator Ricketts. When you say international code, help
	educate me on that. Why is it called an international code?
	Mr. Wajda. The International Code Council is a code writing
	body. It is a nonprofit organization that actually writes the
	codes and then states adopt those international codes in their
	states, but it is a group of folks that get together to
	promulgate, write new codes, and ultimately sell code books.
	Senator Ricketts. Who are they accountable to?
	Mr. Wajda. They have a governing body.
	Senator Ricketts. Who is that? Who makes up their governing
	body?
	Mr. Wajda. Various interest groups and local government
	officials, typically.
	Senator Ricketts. It is not an elected official body that
	is overseeing that.
	Mr. Wajda. Could be the local building inspector, could be
	from a community that is on the ICC board. You know, very, very
	interest--a lot of times maybe they are looking at safety and
	not necessarily safety and affordability.
	Senator Ricketts. You said there is also--so is there also
	a potential for conflict of interest there from that standpoint
	of the people who are sitting on that, who are creating these
	codes, that may then benefit from the codes that they are
	creating?
	Mr. Wajda. I think a lot of the things that we hear from
	our members of our organization is a lot of product
	manufacturers are very engaged in the code writing process, and
	a lot of times that if you add a product to the code, that
	could increase the cost of housing. Obviously then local
	states, the states and local communities have to look at that
	and say, is this something that we want in our home state?
	A lot of times we have to then pull that section out of the
	code or learn to live with it and pass the cost on to the
	potential home buyer.
	Senator Ricketts. Is there a way to--do you have any
	thoughts on how to reform that process?
	Mr. Wajda. I think having a more balanced approach so that
	you have all sectors of the residential construction industry
	at the table with an equal voice and making sure that not--we
	are taking into account not only safety but also affordability.
	As you mentioned early, really taking a look at that cost
	benefit analysis of every new edition of the code that is going
	to be promulgated to make sure that the people that are going
	to be enforcing those new regulations understand the costs they
	are passing on to their constituencies.
	Senator Ricketts. Great, and thank you very much. I
	appreciate it.
	Mr. Wajda. Thank you very much.
	Senator Ricketts. Thank you.
	The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Ricketts. We will turn
	next to Senator Warnock.
	Senator Warnock. Thank you very much, Chair Casey. In
	addition to the Aging Committee, I also serve on Banking and
	Housing, and it is exciting to see those two Committees
	intersect on such an important issue.
	Over the past year, I have been working to improve the low-
	income housing tax credit, or better known as LIHTC. Ms.
	Cannington, how do states meet the needs of people with
	disabilities through the LIHTC program?
	Ms. Cannington. Thank you so much, Senator Warnock, for
	your question, so as I spoke to in my testimony, LIHTC, as the
	Nation's primary driver of affordable housing, is impacting
	positively the supply of affordable housing across the country,
	and yet there are still gaps in the program in that it does not
	uphold a standard of accessibility that people with
	disabilities and older adults need across the country.
	Through Federal guidance both and reform, we can create
	incentives and requirements within LIHTC to ensure that
	regardless of the state that an individual lives in, that they
	can expect that there is going to be a supply of housing that
	is more accessible and adaptable. There also is a need for more
	data transparency and data collection.
	We are--you know, we know that less than five percent of
	our Nation's housing stock is accessible. We know that disabled
	people and older adults experience poverty at higher rates and
	need accessible housing.
	The supply of affordable, accessible housing is even less,
	and so how can we ensure that the largest driver of affordable
	housing, LIHTC, really gives us an understanding of the supply
	that it is rehabbing and constructing and noting what that
	supply--how that supply is meeting the needs as well as not
	meeting the needs of Americans across the country.
	Senator Warnock. Lack of inventory, availability of
	affordable housing for people in general, particularly
	marginalized populations.
	Then persons dealing with that at the intersection of
	disabilities, that supply is even lower, so we have got a lot
	of work to do, and that is why last year I introduced the
	Housing Market Data Transparency Act, which requires state
	housing finance agencies to submit data annually about
	properties receiving.
	Ms. Cannington, how could better data about the LIHTC
	program inform better policies and improve the lives of
	Americans aging in place and adults with disabilities?
	Ms. Cannington. Thank you again for that question, Senator,
	so as we know and your legislation speaks to, multiple GAO
	reports have suggested that Congress should consider
	designating an agency to regularly collect and maintain
	specified cost related data, and we need to ensure that the
	data also collected is related to both levels of affordability
	and accessibility.
	For example, Congress can then connect data on the number
	of homes funded by LIHTC based on AMI to track how the program
	serves people across incomes. That can also be the same in
	regards to accessibility.
	We--you know, we need more research to be done and more
	attention to access and inclusion across the housing
	infrastructure, and if LIHTC, which is the primary driver of
	affordable housing, is really not taking into consideration the
	needs of the largest minority in this country, we are missing
	the mark.
	Senator Warnock. Well, thank you so much. I agree, and I
	believe that increasing program transparency and data integrity
	of the LIHTC program would further underscore the program's
	record of success and allow us to have more accurate data, and
	this is not data for data sake. Improved data transparency in
	the LIHTC program would then help inform policies and meet the
	needs of people with disabilities and Americans aging in place.
	Thank you so much for your advocacy on this issue and for your
	testimony today.
	The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Warnock. I know we are
	awaiting I think at least one more Senator, and so I will ask
	another question. I want to note for the record something I
	didn't do earlier. The--I mentioned the modifying your home for
	accessibility and safety, this new publication, and this
	version is for Pennsylvania, but it has also been translated
	into Spanish.
	We have that resource available. I will turn for my
	question to Domonique Howell. You mention your testimony, if
	your home is properly accessible, it can make an immense
	difference and allow you to live independently and be
	integrated into your community.
	People with disabilities have historically been
	underrepresented in property development, and the expertise and
	leadership of people with disabilities is critical to the
	creation of more accessible homes.
	Your lived experience and work highlight the need for more
	people with disabilities to be included in the conception of
	and development of affordable and accessible housing, so
	housing is made better for all Americans. Can you share the
	importance of including the voices of people with disabilities
	and advocates in housing development?
	Ms. Howell. Thank you for your question, Chairman. First
	and foremost, I think that representation matters, so we need
	to be at the table so that people can see us and know our
	stories, and know what accessibility looks like firsthand,
	whether it is physical, whether it is cognitive, whether you
	are a deaf individual.
	I think that if we are at the table and we help develop it,
	it will help design and create more affordable housing the best
	way we know how. If you lived the experience, you know the
	experience, so you are the best person to develop it because
	you know what you need as a disabled individual.
	The Chairman. Yes. That makes a lot of sense. Dr. Schuetz,
	I wanted to turn to you again. We know that many older adults
	provide care for their grandchildren, grand families as we have
	come to know them. These older adults may not have the physical
	infrastructure features in their home to accommodate raising a
	young child. Features include single floor living, zero step
	entrances, and hallways and doorways wide enough to accommodate
	wheelchairs, walkers or strollers. These not only make homes
	more accessible for older adults, but also for young children.
	As we have learned today, finding housing that meets these
	criteria is challenging. I have introduced bipartisan
	legislation called the Grand Family Housing Act, which would
	support housing providers in creating stable living
	environments for grand families and kinship families. Doctor,
	how can we better support the accessible housing needs of
	multi-generational families, particularly those who are raising
	young children?
	Dr. Schuetz. That is a great question, Senator. We know
	that people have figured out ways to live in extended families
	and multi-generational families forever. People figure out ways
	to do this organically.
	Many of the rules that we have been talking about at the
	local level, zoning rules, make it hard to build the kinds of
	homes that accommodate that, so a very typical example used to
	be you would buy a duplex or a triple decker house and have
	different parts of the same family live together and provide
	care but have different units.
	We have talked some today about accessory dwelling units,
	which are a great way to provide a unit on the same property
	that can either accommodate a caregiver, adult children, older
	adults who want to live with their younger children.
	These kinds of diverse structures provide an ecosystem of
	housing that supports a lot of choices, and if we take away
	some of the regulatory barriers and allow these to be built,
	including allowing conversions to happen in existing
	properties, then we provide a wider range of options and people
	can choose the option that works best for themselves and their
	families.
	The Chairman. Thanks very much. Senator Ricketts, do you
	have any other questions?
	Senator Ricketts. Yes. Great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You
	will have to tell Senator Braun I was trying to schmooze him
	while he was--he was supposed to be here for this so I could
	say I was going to compliment him on his introduction to his
	leadership of the Middle Class Borrower Protection Act, which I
	co-sponsored, but he is not here, so you have to tell him that
	I was trying to compliment him when he wasn't----
	The Chairman. I will make sure to do that.
	Senator Warnock. Thank you, but it is concerning when the
	Administration wanted to change the low level pricing for
	families, that you are essentially taxing the American dream.
	You are rewarding people who weren't making as good financial
	decisions and punishing people who were doing the right thing
	with regard to their financial decisions, who had better credit
	scores and so forth, and that is obviously very concerning
	measure. Mr. Wajda, in your opinion, what specific impact
	analysis or studies should be done before you make changes like
	this that are going to change this single-family pricing
	framework?
	Mr. Wajda. Senator Ricketts, thank you very much for your
	question. Our National Association expressed concern about the
	increased upfront delivery fees for many borrowers with the new
	LLPA matrices when they came out May of this year.
	Whether it is paid as a closing cost fee or through
	increased interest rates, increasing the LLPAs only serve to
	act as a tax on homeownership in an extremely vulnerable
	market.
	However, our industry believes that Congress should remain
	focused on the comprehensive reform of the housing finance
	system and certainly understand that when those fees are passed
	on, right, there is a cost to homeownership across the country.
	Senator Ricketts. What sort of collaboration or input
	should be received before making changes like this? Like, how
	would you structure this to advise the Administration before
	they make changes in this kind of policy?
	Mr. Wajda. Senator Ricketts, I think having that discussion
	with the various stakeholders and how it is going to impact
	certainly the housing industry as a whole, bringing those
	stakeholders into those conversations and having that dialog on
	the front end, we certainly could have had that conversation to
	make sure any change and what that impact was going to be on
	housing affordability.
	Senator Ricketts. To your knowledge, do you know of any
	sort of collaboration, input, forums, public meetings, anything
	like that the Administration did before considering this?
	Mr. Wajda. I certainly have to check with our National
	Association staff on that and whether there was any
	collaboration between those organizations.
	Senator Ricketts. You are not aware of any personally?
	Mr. Wajda. None, to my knowledge. No, sir.
	Senator Ricketts. What kind of implications do you think
	this would have for housing affordability if this rule were in
	place?
	Mr. Wajda. I think certainly any fees that are passed on
	have to be, whether it is passed on in the cost of a mortgage
	or passed on to the homebuilder and ultimately to the
	homebuyer, any increase in the cost of housing is going to
	price people out of the market.
	Senator Ricketts. It is going to actually lead to less
	accessibility rather than more accessibility, correct? Is that
	fair?
	Mr. Wajda. Yes, sir.
	Senator Ricketts. Yes. Thank you very much. I appreciate
	that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
	The Chairman. Thank you, Senator Ricketts. I will move to
	my closing statement for the hearing, and if our colleague
	arrives, they can be slotted in before we adjourn, and I want
	to thank Senator Ricketts for coming back to the hearing and
	also standing in for Senator Braun. We are grateful for that.
	It is a busy Thursday, and we have multiple competing
	Committees all at the same time, so we are grateful for his
	work.
	As we conclude the hearing on accessible and affordable
	housing for older adults and people with disabilities, it is
	imperative that we understand the need for stable, high quality
	housing to ensure the well-being of older Americans and
	Americans with disabilities.
	Today's witnesses have talked about the importance of
	increasing the stock of accessible and affordable homes, as
	well as embedding accessibility into housing standards.
	Accessible housing includes features people may need to live
	independently like wider doorways, clear floor space for
	wheelchairs to move throughout the home, low countertops,
	assistive technology, and grab bars in bathrooms.
	Accessible design is essential to ensure the inclusion and
	active participation of all people in society--accessible
	housing that ensures all people have access to a home they can
	live in, and as we have heard today, living in well fit homes
	ensures community engagement, professional opportunities, and
	educational options.
	Building accessible homes requires joint efforts and the
	active participation of everyone, from people with
	disabilities, to developers, to advocacy organizations, to
	Federal and State governments, and the unfortunate reality is
	that millions of older Americans, of people with disabilities
	see accessible housing only as a dream.
	People like Domonique, who said, ``my entire life I have
	had to make a decision between accessibility and affordability,
	so many other Americans with disabilities do daily.'' No one,
	no one should have to make that choice. Domonique's comment, as
	well as the ones made by other witnesses, reinforces the lack
	of accessible homes and the challenges older adults and people
	with disabilities face when trying to find and pay for these
	homes.
	The five percent of national housing stock with even basic
	accessible features is clearly inadequate when 26 percent of
	our fellow Americans have a disability. I mentioned earlier the
	VITAL Act which incentivizes the building of affordable homes
	that are also accessible.
	As members of Congress, we must continue to commit to
	ensuring investment to increase the stock of accessible and
	affordable housing to meet the needs of millions of people with
	disabilities and older adults.
	I want to thank you for your testimony, and I will now turn
	to Senator Warren.
	Senator Warren. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you very
	much for holding this hearing today. Such an important topic.
	The housing shortage is a national emergency that lies at the
	root of what makes buying or renting a home, the single largest
	line item in most families' budgets, so wildly unaffordable to
	too many Americans today.
	We know how to solve the problem. We need to build more
	housing, and not just more housing, but more of every kind of
	housing. Housing for seniors. Housing for people with
	disabilities. Housing for veterans. Housing for families with
	children. Housing for single people. Housing for first time
	buyers, and on, and on.
	That undoubtedly will require new housing development and
	construction, and I believe we need serious Federal dollars to
	help make this happen, but there are also things that we can do
	to make the most of the construction that we already have.
	For example, towns all across this country are taking a
	look at their unused nonresidential properties like office
	space or long abandoned public buildings, to see if those
	spaces could better be used to serve their communities as
	housing.
	Dr. Schuetz, you have extensive experience studying the
	housing market. Now, property conversions may not work
	everywhere, all the time, but we are seeing communities
	successfully using housing conversions to create accessible and
	affordable housing for some groups.
	Are you seeing this as a way to produce more housing for
	older Americans, for people with disabilities, and for other
	groups?
	Dr. Schuetz. Absolutely. Conversion of nonresidential
	buildings to housing can add substantial amounts of housing. If
	we look at cities like Los Angeles, for instance, the downtown
	converted a lot of empty office buildings, and they work really
	well for accessible units because there are already tall
	buildings equipped with elevators, so they can work really well
	in some contexts.
	Senator Warren. Yes. You know, I want to say we are doing
	some of this in Massachusetts right now. Over the last few
	years, we have seen creative projects to convert existing
	nonresidential construction to homes for older Americans and
	for the broader population.
	In New Bedford, a 114-year-old textile mill is being
	converted into apartments for lower and middle income adults
	aged 55 and older. In Salem, two century--I am going to say
	this wrong. In Salem, two century old Catholic schools are
	being converted to a mixed income apartment for seniors and
	artists.
	Earlier this month, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a
	bold pilot program to immediately create residential housing
	out of unused office space, and there is a lot of it, with
	about one in five of every commercial office building in
	downtown Boston currently vacant.
	Federal investment in converting formerly nonresidential
	properties into housing could help more communities expand
	their housing supply in a way that fits the needs of target
	populations, like older adults who need accessible and
	centrally located homes.
	Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, another tool that
	communities can use to get the most out of their existing
	construction. These units tend to be on the smaller side,
	something that homeowners can build on their own property, and
	then use it as rental housing.
	Think of a mother-in-law unit on the back of the lot, or
	maybe an efficiency apartment over a garage. Dr. Schuetz, could
	you say a word about how accessory dwelling units help address
	the housing shortage, especially among older adults?
	Dr. Schuetz. Accessory dwelling units can fit in a couple
	of ways. They can provide a space on the property for a
	caretaker to live, or they can provide a space for adult
	children to move in. I would point to both California and Utah
	as States that have done a lot to push making accessory
	dwelling units easier to build at the state level.
	Senator Warren. Ms. Cannington, would you like to add to
	that? You seem engaged in this conversation.
	Ms. Cannington. Thank you so much, Senator. I just want to
	add the importance of both a carrots and sticks approach to the
	affordable, accessible, and inclusive housing crisis that we
	have. It is, you know, it is essential that we have
	accessibility requirements that accurately reflect the needs of
	the growing, disabled, and older adult population.
	The bottom line is, without incentives, the developer field
	will only continue to see access as a compliance issue, but
	what we know is that access is an opportunity for everyone to
	thrive at levels that we have really never been able to fully
	realize in this country.
	Senator Warren. I think that is a really powerful point
	here. You know, this is something where--my view on this is
	more is more. We need more. In the last few years, several
	towns on Cape Cod have agreed to reform their zoning laws to
	allow for the creation of ADUs to boost the supply of year
	round housing for residents.
	Local advocacy groups have stepped up to provide modest
	financial incentives and practical assistance to homeowners to
	help them get ADUs in place. I get it, ADUs and conversions may
	not work everywhere. Every community's housing stock is
	different and particular needs are different.
	There is no getting around the need for a major Federal
	investment if we want to close the housing gap, but we can also
	help move the needle with more targeted Federal investments
	that support and expand communities' efforts to boost their
	housing stock and to ensure that everyone, and I want to
	underline everyone, has access to safe, accessible, and
	affordable place to live. Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
	The Chairman. Senator Warren, thanks very much, and thanks
	for being with us today. I will wrap up by saying that I want
	to start by thanking each of our witnesses for their time
	today, their testimony, the experience, both life experience as
	well as professional experience.
	I also want to thank you for your patience in allowing us
	to have a break in between so Senator Braun and I could get to
	the HELP hearing.
	I will be submitting nine additional statements for the
	record from various constituents and stakeholders from
	Pennsylvania who have experienced issues with finding
	accessible and affordable housing and are calling on the need
	for more development.
	If any Senators have additional questions for the witnesses
	or statements to be added to the record, the hearing record
	will be kept open for seven days until next Thursday, July
	27th.
	Thank you all for participating today. This concludes our
	hearing.
	[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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	APPENDIX


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	Closing Statement

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	Closing Statement of Senator
	Mike Braun, Ranking Member

	Today, we heard from experts, advocates, and those with
	lived experience in dealing with housing unaffordability,
	inventory shortages, and accessibility.
	More housing needs to be built in order to lower prices.
	States and localities are on the front lines of housing
	affordability and accessibility issues.
	They are best positioned to make meaningful policy
	decisions to help bridge the gap between housing inventory and
	demand.
	Federal bureaucrats should not step in the way. We must do
	more to address federal regulatory burdens.
	Dangling money over states in exchange for updating their
	energy codes will result in new homes becoming more expensive,
	putting them out of reach for middle class Americans.
	Harmful changes to the mortgage fee framework have resulted
	in increased mortgage interest rates for many people to
	subsidize riskier borrowers with worse credit scores.
	The ability to achieve the American dream of homeownership
	is in peril as housing today is less affordable than it has
	ever been.
	When 75% of Hoosiers are unable to afford the median price
	of a new home under President Biden's economy, we know there is
	a serious issue.
	I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides
	of the aisle to make homeownership and reasonable rent more
	attainable.
	I am glad we had this hearing today and I thank Chairman
	Casey.
	I yield back.

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	Prepared Witness Statements

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	Statements for the Record

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