Housing for America’s Middle Class Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate why middle-class families are struggling to find affordable places to live. It specifically looks at households earning between 80% and 120% of their local area's median income, a group often caught between being too wealthy for aid but too poor for market-rate homes.
• The study will identify specific parts of the country where housing is the most expensive and hardest to find for middle-income earners. It will also list every federal housing program—including tax credits and grants—that these families are currently blocked from using because of their income level.
• Within one year, the GAO must recommend a standard federal definition for "workforce housing." Creating this official label is a first step toward allowing the government to design new incentives or change existing rules to help workers like teachers and police officers afford homes in the communities they serve.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.