Bill · S. 3970· Senate(119-S-3970)
Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act
- Introduced
- 3/3/2026
- Last activity
- 3/3/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Sponsored by
- Pete Ricketts
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act aims to exempt certain housing assistance from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. This exemption applies to assistance provided for constructing or modifying residential housing on infill sites. The bill specifically covers assistance under various sections of the Housing Act of 1949. It also mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture submit a report to Congress within five years regarding the implementation of this section. This report must address application review times, administrative costs, and the impact on rural affordable housing.
Yes· 3 of 4
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?+4
The bill specifically aims to improve the availability of affordable housing in rural areas.
Does this make housing cost less?+3
The bill aims to streamline assistance for residential housing on infill sites to potentially increase affordable housing availability.
Does this invest in rural communities?+3
The bill specifically targets housing assistance for infill sites in rural areas to facilitate development.
The opposite
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?-4
The bill reduces environmental oversight by exempting certain infill housing projects from NEPA requirements.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Streamlined Assistance for Infill Housing: By exempting assistance for construction or modification of residential housing on infill sites from being considered a major Federal action under NEPA, the bill may change how assistance is provided under sections 501, 502, 504, 515, 533, or 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (Section 2(a)).
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Potential Reductions in Time and Cost: The Secretary of Agriculture is tasked with determining if this implementation reduces the time it takes to review assistance applications and reduces the administrative costs of providing that assistance (Section 2(b)(1)).
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Insight into Rural Affordable Housing: The required report will describe how these changes affect the affordable housing sector in rural America (Section 2(b)(2)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Limitation of Environmental Oversight: The bill exempts certain assistance from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Section 2(a)).
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Scope of Exceptions: The savings clause notes that this exemption only applies to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and does not affect requirements under any other law (Section 2(c)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Rural Residents+4Good For Low Income Households+2
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Affordable Housing+3
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Rural Development+3Improves Environmental Protections-4
- 3/3/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.