Nothing succeeds like success! With bicameral and bipartisan agreement on affordable housing legislation, we are on our way to the President’s desk. The revised 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which was advanced by the Senate on June 18 with a vote of 84 to 8, is expected to be voted on by the Senate and House this week. A signing ceremony is expected at the White House soon thereafter.
As Ted Lasso says, “I believe in believe.” And believing was the right bet for housers. This is an accomplishment that has eluded Washington for more than a decade. For years, housing advocates have watched affordable housing legislation fail to become law after years of effort. Housers have a chest full of participant ribbons, and until now, no medals. Too often, broad agreement on the need to address housing affordability has collided with disagreements over how to do it. That could have been the case again, but it wasn’t.
Let’s be clear, when I say “we,” I don’t mean the National Housing Conference. We have been a part of an extraordinarily broad and diverse coalition. I’m referring to all of the housing advocates across Washington, D.C. and the country, who have worked individually and together on this important first step to addressing the affordable housing crisis.
Two of the biggest drivers of bipartisan housing legislation have been House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chairman Mike Flood (R-Neb.) and Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). NHC is proud to honor them with the Carl A.S. Coan, Sr., Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service, at our Housing Visionary Awards Gala on June 24.
John F. Kennedy once said, “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” This victory truly has a thousand parents. We can start with the members of Congress who led this initiative: Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). They have demonstrated that consensus is possible when the goal is solving a problem rather than scoring political points. The process wasn’t easy, to say the least, but our bicameral legislature was designed to make it hard to help ensure legislation would be enacted with the broadest possible support.
We also have to acknowledge the broad coalition of organizations that have fought for this bill for nearly two years, and for many of its component bills for much longer. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act includes over 50 individual pieces of legislation that address nearly every facet of affordable housing development, production, and preservation. Industry trade associations, civil rights groups, affordable housing advocates, for-profit and nonprofit affordable housing developers—the list of meaningful contributors is inspiringly long.
Chairman Scott said the “bill is the result of years of work to lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership,” noting that it “gives Congress a chance to deliver a major win for families across the country.” Frankly, that’s an understatement. It’s not a magic wand, but it is “a meaningful step toward increasing housing supply, improving affordability, and helping more Americans achieve homeownership,” as Chairman Hill said.
Compromise is never easy, even when everyone agrees on the goal. The revised legislation reflects months of negotiations, difficult conversations, and hard choices. Housing affordability is one of the few challenges that unites policymakers across party lines. Republicans and Democrats alike recognize that rising housing costs are straining families, limiting economic opportunity, and slowing growth in communities across the country.
No one got everything they wanted. The challenge was knitting together enough common ground to move meaningful housing legislation across the finish line. We did.
For years, many housing advocates have argued that if Congress could focus on the areas where consensus already existed—the highest common denominator of agreement—meaningful legislation could pass. The revised 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act proves they were right.
As Senator Warren observed on the Senate floor, the legislation reflects contributions from Republicans and Democrats alike, demonstrating what is possible when policymakers focus on solving problems instead of scoring political points: “I also want to note that every single member of the Banking Committee—Republican and Democrat—added ideas and specific provisions that made it into this bill.”
What Congress has accomplished on affordable housing is about more than housing policy. It is a reminder that bipartisan and bicameral legislating still works when lawmakers remain focused on a shared objective. And it’s a model for how we move forward, because there is a lot more to do.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act builds trust among stakeholders. It strengthens bipartisan relationships. It proves that Congress can act when the need is urgent and the coalition is broad enough. The housing community has spent years building that coalition. This bill is evidence that the effort was worth it.
The package combines many of the strongest provisions developed by Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate. It includes reforms designed to increase housing supply, improve federal housing programs, modernize regulations, strengthen disaster recovery tools, support community development, expand housing counseling and financial literacy efforts, increase opportunities for affordable housing production, and improve access to homeownership and rental housing. The bill does more than just invest federal funds into housing. Instead, it improves, modernizes, and streamlines programs that will make existing federal funds go further. And that is a gift that will keep giving.
The final package reflects the reality that durable legislation is built not on unanimity, but on practical solutions that can earn support across party lines. Ranking Member Waters said, “our work is far from done. This is an important step forward, not the final destination.” We are ready to do more.
Successful housing legislation begets future housing legislation. NHC will be convening our members to develop the next phase of housing legislation for the next tax bill. This is where even more work needs to be done, where working together will be even more important, and where unity will be the most important requirement for success.