Lack of adequate housing stock, especially in major coastal cities, is pushing people out of the communities they want to live in and causing rent prices to increase astronomically in certain places. While the federal government can’t affect local regulations directly, it can impose more accountability and transparency about zoning decisions through this bill and possibly “name and shame” localities that use regulations and zoning as tools of housing discrimination.
Given the lack of enforcement mechanism, this is a toothless bill that likely won’t achieve much, if anything, in the way of real change. There’s also no need for it in light of the fact that the White House has established a council to study the affordable housing crisis and the YIMBY movement’s strong momentum on its own. Finally, issues with YIMBYism itself — especially its marginalization of established low-income minority communities — is a concern.