FACT CHECK: Did Congress Pass A Bill Giving First-Time Homebuyers $25,000 In Down Payment Assistance?
A post shared on Facebook claims a Congressional bill providing $25,000 to help support first-time homebuyers was passed.
Verdict: False
Neither the House nor the Senate has passed a bill giving first-time homebuyers $25,000 in assistance at this time. As of press time, the proposed legislation has not been formally introduced into Congress.
Fact Check:
The May 1 Facebook post states,”So the $25k first time home buyer credit bill passed !! New house, no down payment.. im tryna take advantage of this !” (RELATED: Did Nancy Pelosi Send This Tweet About Her Home Being Vandalized?)
The post is seemingly in reference to the Down Payment Toward Equity Act of 2021, a proposed legislation that would give up to to $20,000 of down payment assistance to first-generation, first-time homebuyers, or $25,000 for those who are deemed “socially and economically disadvantaged,” according to a summary of the proposed act by the National Council of State Housing Agencies.
The Down Payment Toward Equity Act, however, has not been passed by either the House or the Senate at the time of publication. No mention of the proposed act being introduced could currently be found on Congress.gov, which tracks the progress of legislation from introduction onward. Had the act been passed, media outlets likely would have reported on it, yet none have.
In fact, as of May 4, the act has not been introduced as a bill. In order for a bill to be formally introduced in Congress, it must have the signature of a sponsor, according to the Congressional Research Service. The proposed legislation was brought up as a draft in a March 10 House Committee on Financial Services hearing. The text from that draft shows it has no resolution number or sponsor yet, meaning it has not been introduced to Congress.
During an April 14 House Financial Services Committee hearing, the Down Payment Toward Equity Act was published and discussed, the Washington Post reported, but there was still no sponsor or resolution number, indicating it wasn’t formally introduced to Congress then, either.
