Sen. Tim Scott, Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, has introduced the “ROAD to Housing Act,” legislation drafted to make targeted reforms across all segments of the U.S. housing market. Ranking Member Scott has made access to quality, affordability housing a top priority during his time in Congress. The “ROAD to Housing Act” is the result of negotiations with stakeholders and follows feedback on the Sen. Scott’s legislative framework, discussion draft, and multiple full committee hearings on legislative solutions to challenges in housing.
“I’m the son of a single mother–growing up, we lived with family until we were able to rent a small place of our own. I know firsthand the importance of access to quality, affordable housing. Unfortunately, Democrats’ solution for years has been to spend trillions on programs that have yielded little results, especially for minorities as homeownership rates for African Americans have barely changed in over 50 years,” said Sen. Scott. “Costs to buy a home and to rent continue to increase, and homelessness is at record levels. It’s past time for Congress to take serious action to reverse decades of failed housing policies and put all Americans on the road to housing.”
Navigating the ROAD to Housing Act
The ROAD (Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream) to Housing Act takes a comprehensive view of federal housing policy, introducing reforms across all segments of the housing market, centering support around families and communities.
“Homes are the foundation for economic success, family stability and community cohesiveness,” explained Sen. Mike Crapo, one of the sponsors of the Act. “Unfortunately, lack of affordable housing is routinely the number one concern I hear from Idahoans in my meetings throughout the state. We must reform inefficient segments of U.S. housing availability across all markets to make the American dream of homeownership attainable for as many Americans as possible.”
The ROAD to Housing Act will pave the way to increasing housing supply, improving quality of life for families, and importantly, providing economic opportunity in communities across the nation.
- Safety and Soundness: Scott feels that federal housing programs require greater oversight from Congress to ensure that they are operating in a safe and sound manner. The ROAD to Housing Act aims to ensure the households who utilize federal housing programs have greater access to tools which enhance financial literacy and improve economic opportunity.
- Encouraging Competition and Innovation: The ROAD to Housing Act intends to encourage responsible innovation and allow for new approaches to ensure that communities, whether rural or urban, can meet the housing needs of their residents.
- Providing Housing Opportunity and Combating Homelessness: While HUD provides some assistance, federally subsidized properties have historically concentrated poverty and limited the economic mobility of residents. Homeless assistance programs have similarly failed to deliver the results we need, with the total number of homeless individuals at the highest levels ever recorded. The ROAD to Housing Act will focus on incentivizing success by rewarding the efforts of housing and service providers or communities who actually reduce the number of individuals who are homeless. It will also support local public housing authorities by investing in solutions that deconcentrate poverty and enable families to access self-sufficiency.
- Holding Agencies Accountable and Reducing Regulatory Burdens: The ROAD to Housing Act will review how overregulation contributes to excessive costs and delays in the supply of affordable housing. But we cannot understand the success of our programs if we cannot measure them, so this legislation will also rethink how agencies collect and analyze data to help policymakers better understand if programs are working.
“We are particularly pleased by the introduction of Senator Scott’s comprehensive bill that contains provisions MBA believes will help to make housing more affordable and available,” said Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “This includes enhanced housing counseling and financial literacy measures as well as beneficial reforms designed to increase manufactured housing construction, small-dollar mortgage lending, construction grants, building or preservation of housing in Opportunity Zones, and to promote regular, sustainable dialogue between federal agencies and Congress.”
Click here to review a section by section breakdown of the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act and click here to review a full draft of the Act.
