The House and the Senate have reached an agreement to pass bipartisan legislation designed to boost housing supply and help with affordability.
The various sides reached a final deal on Tuesday after months of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats and the upper and lower chambers.
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The agreement means the latest iteration of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is poised to be approved by both the House and the Senate and be signed into law by President Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections. This would also mark the second-biggest economic legislative achievement for Trump’s second term after last year’s tax cuts.
“This 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,” Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) said after the deal was finalized.
The agreement on the bill came after staff-level negotiations last week between House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and includes revisions to versions of the bill that already passed both the House and the Senate.
Then, this week, after input from House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and ranking member Maxine Waters (D-CA), a few more minor tweaks were made — securing agreement on passage from the so-called “four corners,” meaning the leadership and the relevant committee leaders of both parties in the House and Senate.
The legislation is aimed at increasing the housing supply by easing federal regulations and encouraging states and cities to reform their land-use rules.
But it also includes a controversial provision to ban large investors from purchasing single-family homes.
That provision, which was inserted into the bill after Trump demanded it during the State of the Union, has strong support from some populist Democrats but has faced pushback from free marketers and some in the industry. The House’s most recent version of the bill significantly eased that ban by removing a provision that would have required investors in build-to-rent homes to sell those houses within seven years. That language remains in the final bill.
But other sections have been added back to the legislation following this latest round of leadership-level talks.
One such provision incorporates the BUILD NOW Act, a measure written by Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and banking committee ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) that would steer federal grants to localities that permit greater housing construction and away from areas that fail to build.
Other additions over the last week or so include the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement Act by Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), which would provide grants for manufactured housing.
Several measures to ease regulations on community banks championed by Hill were also included in the final product.
“Bipartisan, bicameral legislating is never easy — but progress matters,” Hill said in a statement. “I appreciate the Senate including a three-year sunset on the CDBG-DR program and adopting key House priorities including nine community banking bills and the House’s language limiting institutional investors from outcompeting American families in the housing market.”
The Senate is set to vote later on Tuesday on a procedural measure to move the legislation forward. It’s unclear how quickly the bill will make it to Trump’s desk. The House is in recess and is set to return to session next Tuesday.
The bill has major political implications. It will give lawmakers tangible legislation addressing affordability that they can point to while on the campaign trail.
Trump has also voiced support for the legislation.
In an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner, Trump recently expressed optimism about housing legislation making its way to his desk.
“I think they’re going to get together and come out with something,” Trump said during a phone call.
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After the deal was struck on Tuesday, Warren said it represented “the biggest housing bill in more than 30 years.”
“Let’s get it done,” she added.