[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6327 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6327
To exempt from the requirements of NEPA the provision of certain
assistance for the construction or modification of residential housing
on infill sites, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 28, 2025
Mr. Vindman (for himself, Mr. Flood, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, and
Mr. Downing) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on
Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To exempt from the requirements of NEPA the provision of certain
assistance for the construction or modification of residential housing
on infill sites, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Housing Regulatory Relief
Act''.
SEC. 2. APPLICABILITY OF NEPA TO THE PROVISION OF CERTAIN ASSISTANCE
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR MODIFICATION OF RESIDENTIAL
HOUSING ON INFILL SITES.
(a) Exemption.--Providing assistance under section 501, 502, 504,
515, 533, or 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471, 1472,
1474, 1485, 1490m, or 1490p-2) for the construction or modification of
residential housing located on an infill site may not be considered a
major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
(b) Report.--Not later than the date that is 5 years after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit
to Congress a report that--
(1) determines whether the implementation of this section--
(A) reduced the amount of time it takes to review
an application for assistance described in subsection
(a); and
(B) reduced the administrative cost of providing
such assistance;
(2) describes how the implementation of this section
affects the affordable housing sector in rural America; and
(3) includes any recommendations from the Secretary of
Agriculture for future congressional action regarding revisions
to categorical exclusions or exemptions from the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) related to the provision of assistance described
in subsection (a).
(c) Savings Clause.--This section does not affect any requirement
under any law other than the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Greenfield.--The term ``greenfield'' means a site that
has not been developed, including a woodland, farmland, and an
open field.
(2) Infill site.--The term ``infill site''--
(A) means a site that is served by existing
infrastructure, including water lines, sewer lines, and
roads; and
(B) does not include--
(i) a site that is served by existing
infrastructure that only consists of a road;
(ii) a site within a census tract
designated as very high or relatively high risk
for wildfire, coastal flooding, and riverine
flooding under the National Risk Index of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency pursuant to
section 206 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5136); and
(iii) a greenfield.
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