While the president makes a push for restoring public order and locking the nation’s homeless population up in institutions, legislators on both sides of the aisle seem more focused on addressing the root cause of the housing crisis in the United States: affordability.
Legislation has been advanced to the full U.S. Senate to address the high cost of home ownership – something that once was seen as the American dream – and now seems out of reach for many Americans. The legislation aims to target the housing supply, affordability and the red tape often associated with development and rehabilitation.
Donald Trump, in a recent executive order, said that despite the “tens of billions of dollars” allocated at the federal and state level to housing insecurity, the programs have failed and unsafe conditions in cities warrant “the appropriate use of civil commitment.”
Members on both sides of the aisle of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs have faith that addressing affordable housing will ultimately lead to more affordable solutions for renters and homeowners, and therefore, less unhoused individuals on city streets.
The committee unanimously voted on Tuesday to advance the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is satisfied that the bill’s passage out of committee is a step in the right direction.
“I said I would work with any member – Republican or Democrat – to lower costs for American families. This bill is an example of that commitment,” Warren said in a statement.
“Rising housing costs represent most families’ largest monthly expense. We need more housing options everywhere, for everyone,” she said.
“The legislation represents what is possible when both parties put families ahead of politics,” she said. “It’s a significant step in the right direction.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) authored several provisions that were included in the bipartisan legislation. His visits to meet with constituents and local legislative bodies throughout the state have reinforced that help is needed now to address the crisis.
“Everywhere I go in Virginia, I hear from families and local leaders who are struggling with the high cost of housing,” said Warner.
“I think we have sometimes, in the effort to try to protect people, overdone at times that notion of protection versus opportunity. I think we need to push the need a little bit back more towards opportunity,” Warner said at the committee markup meeting this week.
Cutting the red tape on local and federal regulations and increasing the stock of manufactured and modular housing could be part of a solution to end homelessness.
“This is a strong step forward in addressing the housing crisis, and I’m glad to see it move out of committee with unanimous support,” Warner said.
ROAD to Housing Act highlights
- A new pilot program to help communities convert vacant buildings – such as abandoned hotels, warehouses, and strip malls – into affordable homes. It would provide grants to local governments for acquisition, site prep and rehabilitation of vacant properties, with priority given to communities that reduce regulatory barriers to housing conversion.
- A best-practice zoning and land-use framework to help localities overcome barriers to new housing development
- A five-year pilot program offering grants and forgivable loans to help low- and moderate-income homeowners and qualifying small landlords address critical home repairs and health hazards, preserving affordable units and stabilizing aging housing stock.
- $800 million to support local initiatives that expand housing supply and reduce costs
- Reauthorize and modernize HUD’s HOME Investments Partnerships Program and make critical updates to improve the program and facilitate the construction of more affordable housing.
- Expand access to manufactured and modular housing by reducing barriers to construction and financing.
- Help reduce delays and improve efficiency for rural housing development by HUD and USDA
- Decoupling rental assistance from maturing mortgages to preserve affordable housing in rural areas. (If fully implemented, this reform would preserve 243 affordable properties serving more than 10,000 low-income Virginians.)
- Improve financing transparency for veteran homebuyers and help them access potentially more affordable mortgage options.
- Regulatory changes to give banks greater flexibility to invest in affordable housing and community development projects
- Establish a dedicated Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to oversee and streamline disaster housing recovery efforts
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Crystal Graham
