Senator Leahy made it a priority to help make housing more affordable and worked to bring resources into Vermont to support homeowners.  Each year, Senator Leahy leads the effort to provide federal funding to support nonprofit organizations providing Vermonters with affordable housing services and assistance for first time homebuyers. Senator Leahy is a long time champion for key housing programs including the Housing Counseling Assistance and National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Programs. 

For rural states like Vermont, the United States Department of Agriculture provides a number of programs to increase homeownership opportunities. Through his work on the Agriculture Committee and throughout his time in the Senate, Senator Leahy supported strong funding for rural development programs that have made critical investments in Vermont’s rural communities.  Since 2009, Senator Leahy helped secure more than $2.3 billion in USDA-RD funding to support farmers, business owners, individuals and families to access a safe and affordable housing and food supply.

As Vermont’s housing continues to age, Senator Leahy recognizes the need to help families to repair and rehabilitate their homes and continues to strongly support funding for the USDA-RD Housing Preservation Grant Program. Grants from the Housing Preservation Program have assisted the Southwestern Vermont Community Action Program, the Vermont Center for Independent Living, Northeast Employment and Training Organization, among many others to enable Vermonters to stay in their homes.