Atwater believes in
Emergency Housing Affordability & Stability
PROBLEM STATEMENTS:
(a) The State of Tennessee is in a housing crisis that has forced individuals and families to become homeless due to the affordability devastation.
(b) Tennessee needs affordable sliding-scale housing programs to ensure that every family that wants an affordable home is granted the American dream.
(c) No human beings should be sleeping on the streets of Tennessee, especially unhoused veterans.
(d) My administration will stop the hemorrhage of rental and housing abuse from wealthy landlords.
(e) Tax incentives are given to rich developers but not potential homeowners.
(f) Creditworthiness keeps low-income Tennesseans from buying a home. This has to change.
Atwater's Innovative Plan to Unlock Housing Affordability:
The federal government and state legislatures are tackling housing affordability through comprehensive legislative packages like the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and state-level zoning reforms.
Key Federal and State Housing Measures
21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: Signed into law in July 2026, this bipartisan federal legislation aims to increase housing supply, reduce construction costs, and limit single-family home purchases by large institutional investors.
Streamlined Reviews: The federal law allows low-impact housing developments on previously developed land to bypass or simplify federal environmental reviews (Sections 205, 206, and 501).
Program Expansions: The legislation reauthorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, expands the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, and enables Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to be used for new housing construction.
Researching State Zoning & Anti-Pricing Laws: States are implementing localized fixes, such as Maryland's SB 389 and Georgia's HB 1166 to boost transit-adjacent development, alongside restrictions on AI-driven algorithmic pricing software in states like Tennessee and Ohio.
The success of the New Federal Housing Law now rests on states and localities. Billions of dollars could flow to proactive jurisdictions that build more homes.