The Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Interior have signed a partnership agreement to create a joint task force that will identify and open federal lands for affordable housing development.
In an online video, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum noted 20% of the nation’s landmass is owned by the Department of Interior while the housing market is in need of 7 million affordable homes.
“Our federal lands are an incredible asset on America’s balance sheet, and we’ve been discussing how we can efficiently and effectively steward these underutilized areas to solve our nation’s affordable housing crisis,” said Burgum.
“HUD will work with DOI to assess the housing needs in areas where federal lands may be available yet under-utilized and implement tailored housing programs with guidance from states and localities,” Turner said.
“This partnership will identify under-utilized federal lands suitable for residential development and streamline the land transfer process,” Burgum continued. “It will also promote policies to increase the availability of affordable housing while balancing important environmental and land use considerations.”
The two secretaries also authored an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal to announce the task force’s creation.
Photo: Doug Burgum and Scott Turner.
