Boston Officials Rally for $320 Billion Housing Funds in Build Back Better Act

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston officials press Congress to preserve $320 billion in housing funds as Build Back Better negotiations intensify. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley convened a public advocacy event Tuesday alongside Senator Ed Markey and Mayor Kim Janey to fight for housing provisions she helped advance through the House Financial Services Committee, including rental assistance, public housing rehabilitation, and a National Housing Trust Fund. Markey warned that of $47 billion appropriated by Congress in March to prevent evictions, only $7.7 billion had been distributed — "a disgrace," he said — while 10.5 million families nationally spend more than half their monthly income on housing. Mayor Janey cited the city's $50 million Boston Rental Relief Fund and a $2.4 million expansion of the Boston Home Center's first-time homebuyers program — which now offers up to $40,000 in down payment assistance for three-family homes — as evidence that local tools exist but require federal scale to achieve lasting impact. Kimberly Landaverde Guillen, 18, of City Life Vida Urbana, testified that her family received a notice to quit during the pandemic after her parents lost their jobs, and that she navigated English-only rental assistance paperwork for her non-English-speaking parents while applying to college.