Federal housing bill would unlock 'competitive grants' for state and local governments
Federal lawmakers introduced on Wednesday a bill they said would speed up housing production and help more Americans become homeowners.
The bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act, in its current form, would authorize the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a book of pre-reviewed, building code-compliant home designs. The bill would also allow HUD to give new competitive grants to state and local governments looking to complete regional housing developments. Another aim of the bill is to expand the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service Home Repair program, so that a wider swath of low-income Americans can apply.
Republicans French Hill of Arkansas and Mike Flood of Nebraska and Democrats Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri and Maxine Waters of California crafted the measure. Waters said other federal lawmakers will likely try to make amendments to the bill before it reaches a full congressional vote.
"Nevertheless, when we pass the Housing for the 21st Century Act into law, we will move closer to a future where every family, no matter their income or ZIP code, has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home," Waters said in a statement Wednesday.
Less than 50% of households are married, census data shows
In 2025, approximately 47% of households in the country were married couples, representing a significant shift from the 66% of households observed 50 years ago, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.
"Among married-couple households, the share with their own children declined over the past half century," the agency said in a statement.
Census data shows that, in 1975, 54% of married-couple households included children under 18 — a figure that declined to 37% in 2025. In 2025, 37.9 million households, or 29%, had one person. In 1975, it was 20%.
"The estimated median age at first marriage increased to 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women, up from ages 23.5 and 21.1, respectively, in 1975," the Census Bureau said.
The National Association of Realtors 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers indicated that, between July 2024 and June 2025, 61% of home purchasers in 2024 were married, 21% were single women and 9% were single men. Among first-time buyers, 25% were single women, 10% were single men, and 50% were married couples.