{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-proposes-housing-downpayment-savings-initiative/", "Merkley Proposes Housing Downpayment Savings Initiative", "2026-09-23", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", "merkley", "https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "Senator leads groundbreaking new legislation to give federal match for money saved by first-time homebuyers for a downpayment on a home\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today introduced new legislation to help support the dream of homeownership for Americans by ensuring working families have a credible path to save up for a downpayment sufficient to purchase a modest home by age 30. Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden cosponsored the legislation.\n\nThe Homeownership Promise Act would create Homeownership Promise Accounts, a basic new standard for Americans that would allow any first-time homebuyer who saves $1 for a downpayment on a house to get a $5 match from the federal government. As young Americans struggle to purchase their first home\u2014with the median age of first-time homebuyers rising to 40 years old in 2025\u2014Merkley\u2019s legislation is essential to restoring the dream of homeownership for millions of families nationwide.\n\n\u201cWorking families should be able to afford a decent home in a decent community,\u201d said Merkley. \u201cFor millions of young Americans, homeownership remains further out of reach than ever before, keeping them from establishing the foundation that has enabled middle-class families to build equity for generations.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy new Homeownership Promise Act would restore the promise of homeownership\u2014one of the foundations that working families need to thrive\u2014by allowing all Americans to save for a home and live that piece of the American Dream,\u201d Merkley concluded.\n\nThe Homeownership Promise Act would:\n\nDirect the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a matching downpayment grant, called a Homeownership Promise Account, that supports first-time homebuyers purchasing a median-priced principal residence.\n\nEstablish an overall maximum contribution limit of $60,000 ($10,000 maximum combined personal, employer, and nonprofit contributions in addition to $50,000 maximum federal matching funds).\n\nMerkley, earlier in his career, led Portland Habitat for Humanity and has continued to fight for affordable housing at every level of government.\n\nIn the Senate, Merkley, when serving on the Banking Committee, led the charge to end predatory mortgages that had turned the dream of homeownership into a nightmare. This ban was passed into law as part of the Dodd\u2013Frank Act in 2010.\n\nMore recently, he has led the fight to kick hedge funds out of the housing market. His efforts produced the first-ever ban on hedge funds buying up single-family homes as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which recently became law.\n\nFull text of the Homeownership Promise Act can be found by clicking here.\n\nA one-page summary of the Homeownership Promise Act can be found by clicking here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-24T09:44:48Z", "2026-09-24T09:45:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-proposes-housing-downpayment-savings-initiative/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8664666675031185, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}