Republicans in the House and Senate continue to search for agreement on the major affordable housing bill before them.
According to Politico, House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) has asked Republicans on that committee to reach out to Senators in an attempt to get bicameral agreement on the housing legislation.
The website reported that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, versions of which have received bipartisan support in both chambers, has bounced between the House and Senate, most recently receiving 396 votes in the House in May.
The House bill, which was backed by President Donald Trump, now awaits action in the Senate.
“I know for us members with relationships with our various senators and allies and colleagues over there [in the Senate], we’re reaching out and hopefully, hopefully we’ll be able to see a point where they’ll come around and see that this is a product that almost all of us can get on the same page with,” House Financial Services Vice Chair Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said.
Bills Largely Similar
Both chambers’ bills are largely similar, but there are key questions over whether the Senate will accept a House version that added community banking provisions and eased Senate language restricting private equity in the housing space, among other things.
Previously, the White House supported the Senate-passed language but flipped last month to support the House’s bill, Politico noted.
The current dialogue comes amid leadership-level engagement that seeks to bring the Capitol together on a version both sides can accept, Politico reported. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that the Senate will make changes to the House bill with the goal of reaching a bicameral compromise.
“We are working in a bipartisan, bicameral way to get the housing bill in shape,” Thune, the South Dakota Republican said, adding that the goal is “to get wins for both the House and Senate, for the Financial Services Committee and Banking.”
White House Preference
Politico reported that Huizenga said he hoped senators “can come to their senses and realize that where the White House now is more reflective of where the House is.”
“Industry leaders have really spoken strongly about this, so I’m hopeful that they would take [the House-passed language] up,” Huizenga said.
Senate Banking ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that she had not been on the receiving end of calls from House Financial Services Republicans to discuss the housing bill.
Politico reported that a spokesperson for House Financial Services Republicans said in a statement that “from CLARITY and INVEST Acts to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, House Republican members of the Committee engage with their Senate counterparts on legislation that has overwhelmingly passed the House.”
