The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday announced new steps to boost the supply of affordable housing by unlocking billions of dollars in unspent COVID-19 aid funding to state and local governments to support a wider array of housing projects, Reuters reported. In the biggest of the moves, the Treasury said it would allow state and local governments to use unspent funds from the $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to support housing projects serving families earning up to 120% of the area's median income, a big jump from 65% previously. These funds can also now be spent on projects that meet the terms of one of a dozen or more federal housing programs as well as those supported by government mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to house essential workers such as teachers, firefighters and nurses. This will open up a significantly wider array of housing projects eligible for support.
