Senator Smith knows that without a safe, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works. Not your job, your health, your family, or your education.
All Minnesotans deserve access to safe, secure, and stable housing. That is why Sen. Smith is committed to addressing the housing crisis happening in Minnesota and across the country. In the Senate, Senator Smith is recognized as a leading voice in proposing policy solutions to fix the affordable housing crisis. She is the top Democrat on the Housing, Transportation and Community Development Subcommittee, and in that role has held numerous hearings and proposed many bills aimed at addressing homelessness, boosting the supply of housing, investing in rural and senior housing, eliminating health and safety hazards in homes, and fighting against private equity and other bad actors pushing up the cost of housing.
Sen. Smith understands that renters are struggling to find units they can afford, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and homelessness is on the rise. Unstable housing upends young people’s ability to learn in school, makes it hard for parents to hold down jobs, and has long-lasting, negative mental and physical health impacts.
Sen. Smith understands that renters are struggling to find units they can afford, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and homelessness is on the rise.
While the lack of quality, affordable housing affects all communities, Black and Native individuals, other people of color in Minnesota, seniors, veterans and rural communities, often face disproportionately difficult housing challenges. As a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Sen. Smith has been a champion for addressing the housing inequities that Native Americans and Tribal Nations face. In 2020, two of her bills related to Native housing became law: the Tribal Access to Homeless Assistance Act and the Native American Housing Affordability Act, which make it easier for Tribes to access funds to combat homelessness and secure mortgages on trust lands, respectively.
Sen. Smith believes it is important to both make improvements to existing programs and propose new, bold solutions. As a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, she has introduced legislation to improve fire safety in homes, support homebuyers in Native communities and address the legacy of housing discrimination. Her bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act would make important updates to USDA’s housing programs and protect properties in Minnesota’s rural communities from losing their affordability. She co-leads the bipartisan Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reform Act that would cut red tape and streamline federal homelessness programs to help house people faster and more efficiently. Additionally, Sen. Smith’s Housing for All Veterans Act would permanently prevent and end veteran homelessness across the country. And her Homes Act would give millions of Americans the freedom and opportunity to build the life they want by creating over a million permanently affordable homes.
Senator Smith will continue to fight for measures like these until they become law because she believes everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to live.
Latest Releases
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Mike Rounds Reintroduce Bipartisan Rural Housing Legislation
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to improve federal rural housing programs and strengthen the supply of affordable housing in rural America. The legislation would represent the most significant Rural Housing Service reforms in decades . The Rural Housing Service expands housing opportunities by offering loans, grants, and rental assistance to rural communities across the country. Rural parts of the country saw only a 1.7% increase in the number of housing units between 2010 and 2020, with almost half of states seeing a decrease in the number of rural units. According to the Minnesota Housing Partnership, every county in Minnesota has a shortage of affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income households. 79% of counties have a shortage that exceeds 100 homes, and 31% have a shortage exceeding 500 homes. Additionally, many properties financed by the Rural Housing Service decades ago — which often can be the only affordable housing option for people living in rural communities — are now at risk of being permanently lost. “Without a safe, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works. Not your job, not your education, not your health,” said Senator Smith. “We know that the housing crisis is hurting communities across the country, and the problem is particularly acute in rural places. This legislation is the direct result of bipartisan hearings and conversations with stakeholders who helped identify ways we can make federal rural housing programs work better for people struggling to find a safe, affordable place to live.” “Improving homeownership opportunities, particularly in rural areas, is critical
U.S. Senators Tina Smith, Adam Schiff, and Colleagues Urge Housing and Urban Development Secretary to Fund Critical Homelessness Programs
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a letter to the Trump Administration demanding congressionally-appropriated funding for Continuum of Care (CoC) programs aimed at combatting homelessness is allowed to flow. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is required by law to obligate these funds no later than 45 days after the issuance of award letters, a deadline which passed on March 4, 2025. The Senators criticized the Trump administration for freezing this funding, creating unnecessary chaos amid a national housing crisis. There is a shortage of around 5 million housing units nationwide and nearly 43 million households pay for a rent or mortgage they cannot afford. HUD is the federal agency charged with combatting this crisis. The letter called out HUD for suddenly canceling technical assistance contracts and planning sweeping layoffs, actions which will exacerbate nationwide homelessness. “We urge you to take action to ensure the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will finish processing FY2024 funding and comply with the two-year funding cycle,” wrote the Senators, “We further urge you to restore HUD’s technical assistance contracts that are vital to CoC recipients in smaller communities.” “Most CoC awards are needed for existing projects rather than new projects, and hundreds of projects have already started their program years without any clarity on when and if HUD funds will be available,” the lawmakers continued. “To keep the lights on, providers are now being forced to draw on lines
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Urges Justice Department to Address the Use of AI in Wrongful Evictions
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging them to
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Introduces Legislation to End Veteran Homelessness Nationwide
Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, introduced the Housing for All Veterans Act, legislation that would help bring an effective end to veteran homelessness.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Federal Investment to Foster Local Zoning Reform in Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chair of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced $4 million in funding to assist localities around the
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Leads 29 Colleagues in Push for Robust Rural Housing Funding
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) led 29 of her Senate colleagues in a push for more funding for rural housing programs in the FY2025 Appropriations bill. In their