Property is Power! An Intellectual Examination of the Proposed National Housing Emergency Act of 2026

Property is Power!

An Intellectual Examination of the Proposed National Housing Emergency Act of 2026

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A Necessary Reset. Why Housing Must Be Treated as a National Emergency Property has always been more than shelter. For Black Americans, it has been the most contested pathway to stability, citizenship, and generational power. From redlining to restrictive covenants to modern zoning laws that quietly reproduce exclusion, housing policy has never been neutral. It has either expanded accessor reinforced inequality.

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That is why the National Housing Emergency Act of 2026, introduced by U.S.Senator Elissa Slotkin (D–MI), deserves serious attention. Not uncritical praise but rigorous engagement. In my view, this legislation represents the right direction and a strong starting point for confronting a crisis that has been decades in the making.

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This bill does something rare in American housing policy: it treats the shortage of housing as both an economic threat and a national security issue,and it responds with the full capacity of the federal government. That framing matters.

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The Reality We Must Name

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We are living through a structural housing crisis. Housing supply has failed to keep pace with population growth for decades. Zoning laws and local resistance have artificially constrained new construction. Homeownership, especially for Black middle-class families, has become increasingly unattainable. The racial wealth gap continues to widen because property ownership remains the primary driver of intergenerational wealth.

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What the National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 Actually Does

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At its core, this legislation requires the President to declare a national housing emergency and invoke the Defense Production Act an authority historically reserved for wartime or major national crises. The bill remains in effect until four million new or rehabilitated homes are produced, or until October 2031, whichever comes first.

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Using Federal Power to Increase Housing Supply

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The bill authorizes the federal government to direct domestic industries to produce essential housing materials such as lumber, steel, and manufactured housing components at scale. The Defense Production Act has previously been used to produce military equipment, accelerate vaccine manufacturing, and stabilize critical supply chains. Applying it to housing acknowledges a truth Black communities have long understood housing stability is foundational to economic security.

Cutting Red Tape That Has Quietly Preserved Exclusion

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Many of the barriers to housing are not economic but political and local.This legislation pressures states and municipalities to eliminate zoning laws that restrict housing growth. It encourages the conversion of underused commercial properties into residential housing, challenges single-family-only zoning, and supports accessory dwelling units, often referred to as in-law suites or granny flats.

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For Black communities historically boxed out by zoning codes designed to exclude, this is significant. Zoning has often functioned as the modern language of segregation legal, subtle, and deeply effective.

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No Blank Checks: Federal Dollars With Accountability

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The Act establishes a Pro-Growth Requirement tied to federal funding.Communities that demonstrate housing growth and remove barriers are rewarded with federal dollars. Communities that refuse to grow are held accountable.This flips the traditional dynamic in which exclusionary localities benefit from federal resources while blocking housing access for working families.

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A Temporary Freeze on Anti-Housing Regulations

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During the declared emergency, the bill prohibits states and local governments from implementing or enforcing new laws or regulations that impose a substantial burden on housing construction or rehabilitation. This provision is critical. Too often, progress is quietly undermined by procedural delays and new regulatory hurdles. The emergency period creates a clear runway for action.

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Quality Matters: Guardrails Against Exploitation

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Expansion without standards invites exploitation. The bill addresses this by establishing minimum residential code standards for all homes built or rehabilitated during the emergency. This protects against the replication of poor-quality housing that has historically been concentrated in Black and low-income communities under the banner of affordability.

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Why This Matters for Black America

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Black homeownership is not simply about individual success. Ownership stabilizes neighborhoods, strengthens schools, anchors local economies, and allows families to pass assets not just memories to the next generation.

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This legislation does not solve every problem. It does not erase the racial wealth gap overnight. But it creates structural conditions in which ownership becomes possible again, particularly for middle-class and working families who have done everything right and still been priced out.

 A Starting Point, Not the Finish Line

This bill is not the destination. It is a meaningful course correction. For too long, housing policy has been reactive, fragmented, and timid. The National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 is assertive. It acknowledges that the market alone will not fix a crisis it helped create.

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From a Property is Power perspective, the bill aligns with a core truth:ownership is not accidental. It is engineered by policy, by access, and by intention. This legislation signals a willingness to engineer opportunity rather than preserve scarcity.

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Final Thought: From Emergency to Equity

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Declaring a housing emergency is not an admission of failure, it is an acknowledgment of reality. The real question is what follows.

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If this bill is paired with targeted homeownership programs, fair lending enforcement, financial education, and community-based implementation, then it can become more than legislation. It can become leverage. And leverage, when applied correctly, transforms property into long-term economic agency.

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This is why I believe this is the right direction and a necessary starting point.

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Dr. Anthony O. Kellum – CEO of Kellum Mortgage, LLC  Homeownership Advocate, Speaker, Author                                                        NMLS # 1267030 NMLS #1567030  O: 313-263-6388 W: www.KelluMortgage.com.

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Property is Power! is a movement to promote home and community ownership. Studies indicate homeownership leads to higher graduation rates, family wealth, and community involvement

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