A major bipartisan effort propelled a Trump-backed affordable housing package through the Senate on Thursday, yet questions linger about its future in the House. Renamed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, this bill incorporates aspects of a previous Senate proposal that faltered last year. With momentum on its side, the legislation gained strong support among lawmakers due to its sweeping measures aimed at increasing affordable housing availability.
Originally, the bill focused on aiding first-time homebuyers and helping lower-income families gain access to the housing market. The Senate approved amendments to the legislation, including a ban on institutional investors championed by President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order to prohibit this practice, emphasizing during his State of the Union address, “We want homes for people, not for corporations.” This provision, while aligning with Trump’s vision, raised concerns among some legislators, particularly Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and various industry groups.
These concerns centered on the ban’s potential negative impact on the build-to-rent market, with critics arguing that forcing owners of large apartment complexes to sell after seven years could exacerbate rental supply issues nationwide. Despite these worries, the Senate pressed forward with the bill, but Trump’s insistence that he would not approve any legislative measures without accompanying voter ID legislation, combined with some House Republicans expressing dissatisfaction with the bill’s changes, suggests challenges ahead.
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., a key figure in the House’s version of the bill, expressed his reservations about the Senate’s draft. He pointed out that while the bill aimed to reduce costs, critical provisions fostering bipartisan cooperation from the House were stripped away. “It seems to me that there are outstanding concerns with the Senate’s housing bill as currently drafted,” said Flood. He echoed Schatz’s warnings about the potential consequences for build-to-rent options and cast doubt on whether the legislation, as is, would accomplish its goals. “Their process is still ongoing, and I am holding out hope for some fixes, but time runs short,” Flood added. “Given the bill’s current state, I think a conference may be the most viable path forward.”
In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., remains optimistic about the bill’s trajectory. He suggested that once it passes the Senate, the White House would likely cooperate with House members to advance it further. Thune stated, “We know we’ve added some things to the bill here in the Senate that were designed to make it more palatable to the House.” He acknowledged the existence of other issues that House members may want to address, including banking matters, but expressed confidence that the bill is fundamentally sound. “I think this is, by and large, a housing bill,” he affirmed.
The legislation represents a significant outcome of negotiations between Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the committee’s leading Democrat. Their collaboration aims to make the bill appealing to their counterparts in the House, reflecting a broader commitment to tackle pressing housing concerns.
Warren underscored the importance of the legislation, stating, “The package includes the vast majority of the Senate’s unanimously supported ROAD to Housing Act, incorporates bipartisan ideas from the House, and takes a good first step to rein in corporate landlords that are squeezing families out of homeownership.” Her call to action suggests urgency, as she urges Congress to pass this package while continuing efforts to address the nation’s housing crisis.
As the bill has passed the Senate, all eyes now turn to the House, where its passage is uncertain. The differing views on critical provisions could lead to further negotiations, with members seeking to amend the legislation to better reflect a consensus on tackling America’s ongoing housing challenges.
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