Housing

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. 

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 Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Press the Administration on Potential Closure of Paul Wellstone Federal Building in Minneapolis 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) wrote a letter demanding answers about reported plans to close and sell the Paul Wellstone Federal Building in Minneapolis. This building provides key federal services, including housing assistance, worker protections, and passport processing. In a letter to General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Stephen Ehikian, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, National Labor Relations Board Chairman Marvin E. Kaplan, and Bureau of Consular Affairs Senior Official John Armstrong, the Senators warned that shutting it down would put these essential services at risk.   “Abrupt closure of the Wellstone Building would put housing and worker protection services into immediate peril. Minnesotans rely on Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs to afford rent, access housing or prepare to become homeowners.  These federal employees help deliver vital rental assistance, homelessness services, respond to housing discrimination, provide housing counseling and assist cities with community development,” wrote the Senators.   The federal building was renamed after Paul Wellstone in 2022 through bipartisan legislation led by Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to honor the late Senator Paul Wellstone’s legacy of public service. Last year, both Senators celebrated the renaming of the building at a ceremony honoring Paul Wellstone and his lifelong dedication to Minnesotans.    In the letter, they also raised concerns that GSA has not followed its own requirements for public engagement and proper planning before offloading federal property. They demanded transparency on whether the federal government intends to close the

U.S. Senator Tina Smith Announces Federal Investment to Lower Housing Costs Through Zoning Reform in Twin Cities Metro Area

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced an additional $5 million for the Twin Cities Metro area to assist with updating local zoning laws to build more affordable housing. The award will add to the $4 million previously announced in June 2024. The funding will provide technical support to cities and towns already in the process of updating their housing plans, community development strategies and best practices around zoning policy to incentivize more housing development. The funding will allow the Met Council to fully fund staff for the project through 2030.  “We have to tackle our housing crisis at every level of government. Boosting the supply of housing is necessary to drive down costs, and that takes federal, state, local and private-sector coordination,” said Senator Smith. “Localities across the Metro have been working hard to reduce barriers to affordable housing and improve community development. This federal funding will support these efforts and further invest in the production and preservation of affordable housing in the region.”  “Neighbors for More Neighbors celebrates this newly-awarded grant to the Metropolitan Council. Minneapolis has seen the positive impact of legalizing more housing types in neighborhoods across the city. We are confident that similar reforms, encouraged by this grant and undertaken across the Twin Cities metro area, will help everyone find secure, affordable homes in the neighborhoods they choose,” said Anna Nelson, Board Chair at Neighbors for More Neighbors.   Local zoning laws dictate where housing can be built and what

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