Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has introduced a bill that calls on President Donald Trump to declare a national housing emergency by using the Defense Production Act to boost domestically produced materials to speed up housing construction and rehabilitation.
“There is nothing more fundamental to the American dream than owning your own home, and it has become increasingly difficult for middle-class Americans to do this,” Slotkin said. “The United States is in a housing crisis, and we need to act now. That’s why my bill declares a national housing emergency, cuts regulations that get in the way, and uses the full weight of the U.S. government to increase our housing supply by 4 million homes.”
Trump has been rumored to be weighing a national housing emergency declaration, with a focus on lowering the cost of homeownership.
According to Slotkin, the National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 would:
- Immediately waives burdensome regulations at the federal level that stand in the way of housing development and rehabilitation and streamlines the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Build America, Buy America waiver process;
- Applies a pro-growth requirement as a condition for all federal formula block grants to states, counties, and localities. To meet the condition, governments must demonstrate positive housing growth, take action to remove zoning barriers to housing development, and identify objectives for future housing growth;
- Pushes states and localities to cut red tape and make way for more housing. It compels state and local governments to change local laws like allowing commercial properties to get turned into housing, eliminating single-family zoning, or allowing for accessory dwelling units (“in-law suites” or “granny flats”); and
- During the emergency, the bill institutes a freeze for states or localities from passing laws, rules, or regulations that impose a burden on the construction or rehabilitation of housing during the period of the emergency.
The bill has been endorsed by the National Housing Conference and the National Leased Housing Association.
A summary of the bill is available here. Full text of the bill is available here.