{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/rural-housing-supply-legislation-becomes-law/", "U.S. SENATOR TINA SMITH\u2019S BIPARTISAN\u00a0RURAL\u00a0HOUSING SUPPLY LEGISLATION BECOMES LAW", "2026-07-11", "2026", "2026-07", "Democrat", "Senate", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", "tinasmith", "https://www.smith.senate.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "9,000 homes in rural Minnesota will be saved by Smith\u2019s bill\n\nMINNEAPOLIS, MN \u2013 U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), the top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced her major bipartisan bill to preserve 400,000 rural homes across the country became law today. Smith\u2019s Rural Housing Service Reform Act was included in a housing supply package that passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities. President Trump refused to sign the bill, but because he did not veto the legislation outright it automatically became law after 10 days of Presidential inaction.\n\n\u201cWithout a safe, affordable place to live, nothing in your life works. Not your health, not your job, and not your education,\u201d said Senator Smith. \u201cThe lack of affordable, decent housing in this country has been a major problem for working families for years, but with the 21st Century Road to Housing Act becoming law, we\u2019re choosing a different path: Build more housing and protect the homes we already have from falling into disrepair. I am so proud that language I wrote to reform the Rural Housing Service and save thousands of affordable homes in rural communities is now law.\u201d\n\nSenator Smith\u2019s bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act would preserve up to 400,000 affordable homes in small towns and rural communities across the country, and more than 9,000 units in Minnesota, by making commonsense updates to programs at the USDA\u2019s Rural Housing Service for the first time in decades.\n\nIn addition to Senator Smith\u2019s Rural Housing Service Reform Act, the package included a number of bills Senator Smith cosponsored and supported, including:\n\nWhole-Home Repairs Act: Authorizes a pilot program to help thousands of working families afford essential, costly home repairs through grants and forgivable loans.\n\nChoice in Affordable Housing Act: Expands access to federal government\u2019s largest rental assistance program for affordable housing.\n\nHOME Investment Partnerships Program Reauthorization and Reform Act: Makes critical updates to the largest federal affordable housing block grants to keep pace with the rising cost of living and to make the program more efficient.\n\nPRICE Act: Helps preserve, protect and stabilize manufactured housing communities by permanently reauthorizing HUD\u2019s Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement program.\n\nThe 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act doesn\u2019t just boost housing supply. The legislation also addresses big corporations\u2019 stranglehold on America\u2019s housing market by banning large institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes. A full list of legislative items included in the package can be found here.\n\nSenator Smith, alongside Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) and Minnesota housing advocates, pressed for the President to sign the bill in a press conference held in the Twin Cities last week praising the bill and urging the President to sign it. You can view Senator Smith\u2019s remarks here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-14T07:08:55Z", "2026-07-14T07:10:52Z"]], "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.smith.senate.gov/rural-housing-supply-legislation-becomes-law/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.983051024377346, "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"}