The Senate today passed a bipartisan bill seeking to boost housing supply by removing regulatory barriers and creating incentives for communities that build more homes.
The Senate voted 89-10 on passage of the ROAD to Housing Act, sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). The bill includes language to reward communities that build more housing supply, ease environmental review of new construction, rethink regulations that hamper additional lending for small-dollar mortgages, and expand tenant assistance and protections.
The bill now heads to the House, where the House Financial Services Committee has introduced its own housing package, the Housing for the 21st Century Act. Senators and House members have several disagreements on what form a final bill should take, but committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) said he welcomed passage of the Senate bill.
“It is critical we get the details right and mitigate some of the concerns raised by House members with the Senate bill,” Hill said. “I hope the work Senator Scott and I have done together can eventually become law, and I look forward to working with all parties to achieve a bicameral success that will bring down the cost of housing and benefit the American people.”
In a post on X, the American Bankers Association congratulated Scott and Warren on the passage of the bill.
“The bipartisan bill is an important step forward as Congress considers how to enhance housing opportunities nationwide,” ABA said.
