H.R. 6363 — Build Now Act of 2025

This section defines terms used in the Act, including "(1) covered recipient," meaning a metropolitan city or urban county, as defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302), receiving funds under section 106 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5306); "(2) eligible recipient," meaning a covered recipient unless its median Small Area Fair Market Rent is at or below the 60th percentile of such rents for all covered recipients and its median home value is below the U.S. median, its annual natural rental vacancy rate exceeds the national rate, its jurisdiction was subject to a major disaster or emergency declaration under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191) in the prior year, or it lacks zoning and permitting authority; "(3) extremely high-growth recipient," meaning an eligible recipient with a current annual housing growth rate of 4% or higher; "(4) current annual growth rate" and "(5) prior annual growth rate," based on average annual percentage increases in housing units over specified five-year periods as calculated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and "(6) housing growth improvement rate," based on the change between current and prior growth rates.

This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to adjust Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations to eligible recipients under section 106 based on their housing growth improvement rate. (1) It decreases such allocations by 10% for recipients below the median rate among all eligible recipients other than high-growth outliers. (2) It provides a bonus to recipients at or above the median rate among all eligible recipients other than extremely high-growth recipients, or that are extremely high-growth recipients, equal to a pro rata share—based on their housing units as of the third quarter of the prior fiscal year—of the aggregate amount decreased under (1). (Thus, the adjustment redistributes funds from lower-growth to higher-growth areas.)

This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to calculate housing units in eligible recipients' jurisdictions under the Act using Current Address Count Listing Files and other Census Bureau data products from the Master Address File, performed at the block level with the most current boundaries. It requires the Census Bureau and U.S. Postal Service to provide relevant data to HUD upon request. The section authorizes HUD to adjust specified calculation periods in sections 2 and 3 by up to two months to align with Census data.

This section requires the Secretary, before allocating funds under section 106 for a fiscal year, to publish a report that (1) includes the housing growth improvement rate for each eligible recipient and (2) lists, for the most recent fiscal year for which allocations were made under section 106, the eligible recipients that received a bonus amount under section 3(b)(1) and those for which the allocation was decreased under section 3(b)(2).

This section directs the Secretary, not later than 60 days after enactment, to notify each eligible recipient of (1) its housing growth improvement rate and (2) whether that rate is above, at, or below the median housing growth improvement rate for all eligible recipients excluding extremely high-growth recipients; the notification must include guidance and best practices resources from the Department of Housing and Urban Development on reducing regulatory barriers to housing supply. This section further provides that Section 3 takes effect beginning with the third full fiscal year after enactment and remains in effect through FY2043.