After of frequently heated discussions between House and Senate Republicans, Congress is about to enact a bipartisan housing package, an important accomplishment that legislators from both parties are excited to highlight back home. Among other things, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would restrict businesses from purchasing single-family homes and relax some permitting requirements.
The first significant effort in decades to alter laws and solve issues that have restricted the country’s housing supply and raised homeownership and rental prices across the country. Along their House counterparts, Representatives, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) have been the bipartisan team spearheading the bill’s advancement in the Senate. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and French Hill (R-Ark.).
“America is in a full-blown housing crisis. Across this country, home prices are sky-high, rent is through the roof, and the median age of a first-time homebuyer is now at an all-time high,” Warren said. “But for too long, the federal government has been asleep at the switch, and that changes today.”
The housing stands out as a means for members of both parties to celebrate triumph in a year when Congress has been bogged in shutdowns and legislation has not advanced much. According to Warren, if the law makes it to President Trump’s desk, it will be the largest housing package to pass Congress in thirty years.
What the Bill Entails
The law more than 45 separate provisions, including new initiatives to assist towns in locating additional home development sites. Additionally, law would encourage the conversion of derelict or abandoned structures into housing and provide grants and loans for individuals to rehabilitate old homes. Further, it would broaden the definition of manufactured housing, allowing municipalities to construct more of those dwellings.
By federal grants to housing building, one of the bill’s key provisions would provide local governments with federal incentives to build additional housing. Another would expedite the environmental review process, which can cause delays in the development of affordable housing. Republicans in the House and Senate debated over the bill’s restrictions on big investors purchasing new single-family homes.
“There’s some regulatory relief in there, but second, stopping the big private equity guys from buying homes—which is driving prices up and taking away some of the supply—is another benefit for homeowners across the country, including Montana,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.).
According to the report, the bill will also substantially increase additional government investment for housing. This deal does not include the federal funding for affordable housing initiatives that Warren and other Democrats have been advocating for for years, though further full-year budget bills may. Although he conceded that the bill won’t resolve the issues he sees in his state, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said it is an important first step in tackling housing.
“I hope that this means we can do more impactful housing policy together,” Murphy said. “I just don’t want to overhype the significance of the bill. It will be marginally helpful in my state, but it’s no new real dollars. It doesn’t unlock a lot of our permitting and zoning problems,” said Murphy, who added “there’s a lot more we have to do.”
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