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Editor’s note: This article has been updated from its original version to reflect President Joe Biden’s signing of the omnibus bill.
President Joe Biden signed a long-awaited bill Tuesday to fund the government through the remainder of the fiscal year. Congress passed the bill late last Thursday. The $1.5 trillion bipartisan package keeps the government running through Sept. 30 and includes money for priorities the National Association of REALTORS® supports, such as housing programs, rural broadband, and surface transportation projects. The bill also reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program.
Since last October, the government has relied on a series of short-term funding extensions while Congress worked toward a long-term deal. Some highlights of NAR priorities in the bill include:
- Flood insurance: Extends the NFIP through Sept. 30 and provides significant funding for communities to respond to and mitigate the impacts of future disasters, with $276 million for flood mapping.
- Broadband: Includes more than $550 million to expand rural broadband services on top of broadband funding included in the American Rescue Plan and bipartisan infrastructure bill last year.
- Fair housing: Contains $85 million for fair housing activities, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program, Fair Housing Assistance Program, and the National Fair Housing Training Academy. This level of funding represents an increase of $12.5 million from 2021.
- Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorizes this legislation and establishes the Violence Prevention Office at HUD. NAR was part of the original group of housing industry supporters that helped craft the housing provisions of the bill.
- Transportation: Provides the remaining funding to implement programs and spending in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, which was passed in November. Provides more than $10 billion to upgrade the nation’s water infrastructure.