Congressman Cleaver Receives Terwilliger Bipartisanship in Housing Award During the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Third Annual Summit on Housing Supply Solutions

(Washington, D.C.) – This month, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, was awarded the inaugural Terwilliger Bipartisanship in Housing Award by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy during their annual Summit on Housing Supply Solutions. The J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy established the award to recognize members of Congress who are helping to promote bipartisan solutions to America’s affordable housing challenges.

“Our national housing affordability crisis is not a Democratic or Republican issue; it is a complex challenge that must be resolved through bipartisan collaboration,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Since coming to Congress, my highest priority has been advancing legislation that will expand affordable housing for communities in my congressional district and all across the nation. This award is a humbling acknowledgement of my efforts to find common ground in federal housing policy and pass legislation that will lower costs for families nationwide.”

Congressman Cleaver was one of eight lawmakers in the House and Senate who received the award earlier this month. Following the award presentation, Congressman Cleaver joined fellow awardee Rep. Mike Kelley (R-PA) for a 40-minute fireside chat to discuss America’s housing affordability crisis and areas of common ground to lower costs through federal housing policies.

Since coming to Washington, Congressman Cleaver has passed multiple bipartisan overhauls of America’s federal housing programs.

In 2016, as Ranking Member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, Congressman Cleaver teamed up with fellow Missouri lawmaker Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer to co-author the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA). The most sweeping reform bill on housing programs in 20 years, HOTMA was passed with unanimous support by Congress, and was signed into law by President Obama on July 29, 2016.

In 2018, Rep. Cleaver co-introduced the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act with Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI) to help low-income families who rely on housing vouchers to move out of poverty and into neighborhoods with better opportunities. The bipartisan bill was passed by the House of Representatives with a vote of 368-19.

In 2022, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance, Cleaver helped shepherd the Build Back Better Act through the House of Representatives, which would have been the largest investment in federal housing programs and the construction of affordable housing in American history.

Last December, Rep. Cleaver introduced the Rural Housing Service Reform Act with Congressman Luetkemeyer, which would enable the most significant modernization of federal rural housing programs in years, helping to create and preserve affordable housing in rural communities across the country.

“Having spent the first few years of my life in a shack with no electricity or running water, I know firsthand the impact that housing can have on families and their future. That’s why housing has been my highest priority since coming to Congress,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, or Raiders fan, as long as you’re fighting to expand the American dream of homeownership and working to lower housing costs for families, you’ll have my partnership in that fight.”

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.