The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs approved S. 5354, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of 2026, on September 23, sending the first NAHASDA reauthorization in more than a decade to the full Senate. The bill, led by Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Brian Schatz, would reauthorize NAHASDA through 2033, expand financing tools, streamline environmental reviews and strengthen support for Native veterans; Murkowski offered an amendment raising the $5,000 de minimis threshold to $22,500. The House companion, introduced in March, remains in committee.
The committee held its legislative hearing on S. 5354 on September 16, one week before the markup.
HUD published a notice raising the upfront loan guarantee fee on new Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee firm commitments, including refinances, from 1.00 to 1.50 percent effective October 1, 2026. The upfront fee for the Section 184 Skilled Workers Demonstration Program rises from zero to 1.00 percent on the same date, and the annual fee stays at zero. HUD said the increase is meant to keep the program self-sustaining, consistent with its other loan guarantee programs.
The notice takes effect October 1, 2026, the first day of FY2027.
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a September 16 hearing on the NAHASDA Modernization Act of 2026, with testimony from Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, the Government Accountability Office's Alicia Puente Cackley, and HUD's Hilary Atkin. Warner's written testimony said Indian Country needs at least 68,000 additional homes to eliminate overcrowding and replace physically deficient housing, and Atkin said NAHASDA has helped build, acquire and rehabilitate more than 160,000 homes over three decades.
NAHASDA, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, was enacted in 1996.
HUD · on the $150 million in Indian Housing Block Grant awards and a HUD-BIA homeownership MOU
At its 2026 National Tribal Housing Summit, HUD announced $150 million in Indian Housing Block Grant Competitive Program awards to 31 Tribal communities, along with the first HUD Secretary's Awards for Excellence in Tribal Communities. HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing and Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding to implement the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025 by accelerating Title Status Report processing and aligning federal leasing reviews.