[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
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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
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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
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Elizabeth Letter, Majority Staff Director
Matthew Sommer, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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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
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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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