Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have released a legislative package that brings together much of their ROAD to Housing Act, which received unanimous support from the Senate last fall, and the 21st Century Housing Act, which recently passed the House with overwhelming support.
If approved, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would mark the largest legislative housing package in decades, according to the lawmakers.
One of the key proposals calls for increasing the public welfare investment cap from 15% to 20%, a move that will increase the capacity of banks to invest in affordable housing. This is important because additional capital is needed to help support the recent expansion of the low-income housing tax credit program.
The legislation also calls for updating the HOME Investment Partnerships and Community Development Block Grant programs and increasing the maximum multifamily loan limits for mortgage insurance programs administered by the Federal Housing Administration. In addition, the bill seeks to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
“2026 is the year of affordability. This week, the Senate is set to vote on housing affordability legislation, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and my colleagues and I stand ready to deliver it to President Trump’s desk, fulfilling the promise he made to Americans at the State of the Union,” said Scott, chair of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “Not only is this bill about cutting regulatory red tape, lowering costs, and expanding housing supply while generating no new spending, but it’s about making sure people like the single mom who raised me in North Charleston, South Carolina, have even greater access to economic opportunity and the American dream of homeownership.”
Warren, ranking member of the committee, said the bill will boost housing supply and lower costs.
“The package includes the vast majority of the Senate’s unanimously supported ROAD to Housing Act, incorporates bipartisan housing ideas from the House, and takes a good first step to rein in corporate landlords that are squeezing families out of homeownership,” she said. “Congress should pass this package and continue working on further legislation to combat our nation’s housing crisis.”
Read the bill text or a section-by-section analysis.