Congress Is Poised to Pass Its First Major Housing Bill in More Than a Decade

A bipartisan pair of senators unveiled a new housing package this week that combines House- and Senate-passed legislation, putting Congress’ first major housing bill in more than a decade on a path to final passage in both chambers.

The bill, spearheaded by Sens. Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, passed a key procedural hurdle Monday night and would include provisions from the Housing for the 21st Century Act.

Both chambers have now passed separate housing packages, a rare spot of bipartisan agreement in a deeply polarized Congress. A final Senate vote on the combined package could be scheduled as soon as next week, a Senate aide told NOTUS. From there, the bill would need to clear the House before heading to the president’s desk.

Scott and Warren released the bill, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, on Monday, right before the Senate successfully advanced the measure in an 86-4 vote.

“This week, the Senate is set to vote on housing affordability legislation, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and my colleagues and I stand ready to deliver it to President Trump’s desk, fulfilling the promise he made to Americans at the State of the Union,” Scott, the chair of the banking committee, said in a statement.

Before that happens, the legislation would need to clear several hurdles, including procedural votes in the Senate to adopt the new package. It would also need to gather the support of lawmakers in the House.

NOTUS previously reported that lawmakers in the House are eager to work with the Senate to get housing legislation passed. And the top lawmaker on the House Financial Services Committee signaled last week that the two chambers plan to work closely to get it done.

“It is imperative that my Senate colleagues work with the House to deliver a bipartisan housing bill to President Trump’s desk — one that reflects the shared priorities of the House, Senate, and White House,” Rep. French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and spearheaded the House bill, said in a statement.

The bill’s provisions, according to a blueprint released by the banking committee, are intended to cut red tape — including streamlining environmental reviews to speed up construction — expand the use of Community Development Block Grant funds for new housing and modernize the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

“The package includes the vast majority of the Senate’s unanimously supported ROAD to Housing Act, incorporates bipartisan housing ideas from the House, and takes a good first step to rein in corporate landlords that are squeezing families out of homeownership,” Warren, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.

Scott and Warren worked over the weekend on the text of the bill, and a procedural vote to adopt it is expected this week, the aide told NOTUS.

The White House has signaled its interest in signing housing legislation and is “pleased” by “collaboration coming from both chambers and both sides of the aisle as Congress works toward enactment of a housing package,” NOTUS previously reported.

President Donald Trump also wants to see a ban on large investors from purchasing single-family homes, Davis Ingle, a spokesperson for the White House, said. The president has repeatedly expressed that he wants that included in a final package.

One of the bill’s provisions nods at Trump’s request, prohibiting “large institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes,” according to the committee’s release.

Sens. Raphael Warnock and Bernie Moreno, who also serve on the banking committee, worked together to include the provision before bringing it to the committee’s leadership and the White House, a separate source familiar with the negotiations told NOTUS.

“In Atlanta, private equity’s greed is squeezing first-time homebuyers out of the market and pushing the American dream further out of reach,” Warnock told NOTUS on Monday. “It’s time Congress did something about it. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Moreno to ban private equity from mass-purchasing homes. This legislation is bipartisan and common sense, let’s get it done.”

Moreno did not respond to NOTUS’ request for comment about the bipartisan collaboration.

Senate leaders are optimistic about getting the package across the line.

“The Senate is moving long-overdue housing legislation, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday during a floor speech. “Democrats will continue to develop and push additional housing policies that build on the good work of this bill.”