Senate Banking Committee Advances Sweeping Bipartisan Housing Package

The Senate Banking Committee has unanimously advanced a comprehensive housing package to boost supply, increase oversight and efficiency of federal regulators and housing programs, help reduce homelessness, and improve affordability.

Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led the Senate Banking Committee in its first bipartisan housing markup in over a decade. The Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025 includes 40 key provisions from every member of the committee. 

“For far too long, Congress believed this problem was too big to solve. Today, we’re taking not a step—but we’re taking a leap in the right direction in a bipartisan fashion. Many people around the country are frustrated with the way we do American politics and wonder is there any issue that brings this nation together, and I’m here to say … we have found one—it is housing,” Scott said during his opening remarks.

Provisions in the bipartisan legislation include:

• Streamlining housing program implementation across federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs; 

• Increasing housing in Opportunity Zones; 

• Reauthorizing the HOME Investment Partnerships program and making updates to improve program administration and facilitate more affordable housing construction;

• Creating a pilot program to incentive housing development of all kinds in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)-participating jurisdictions, excluding states;

• Creating a pilot discretionary program within the HOME program to convert vacant buildings into attainable housing if the annual appropriation exceeds $1.35 billion;

• Building more housing near public transportation routes;

• Lifting the cap on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program;

• Studying and adjusting Federal Housing Administration multifamily loan limits to better match housing market costs and enhance affordability; 

• Permanently authorizing the CDBG-Disaster Recovery program and establishing HUD’s Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency to administer the program; 

• Developing best practice frameworks by HUD for zoning and land-use policies; 

• Enacting reforms to homelessness programs; and

• Reforming the existing Rural Housing Service (RHS), including decoupling rental assistance from maturing mortgages for affordable housing preservation.

“For years, the American people have called on their elected officials to act to reduce housing costs. The Scott-Warren legislation represents what is possible when both parties put families ahead of politics. It’s a significant step in the right direction,” Warren added in her remarks. “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House and in the Senate to move quickly to pass the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act of 2025.”

What the Industry Is Saying

“The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition appreciates the Senate Banking Committee’s ambitious effort to expand our nation’s affordable housing supply and modernize key housing programs. We especially appreciate a number of proposals in the ROAD to Housing Act that will help support affordable housing investment using the low-income housing tax credit, which was recently expanded as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill and remains the primary driver of affordable housing supply in the United States.” —Emily Cadik, CEO, Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition

“MBA applauds and supports the Senate Banking Committee’s favorable reporting of this significant package that will help make housing more affordable and available to households in both urban and rural communities across America. Many of the bill’s provisions will help boost housing supply for both owning and renting, streamline federal housing program offerings, and make small-dollar mortgage lending more available to consumers. Ahead of the proposal’s Senate floor consideration, we will continue to engage with Sens. Scott and Warren to potentially refine and improve certain sections of the bill, including provisions dealing with lender liability, second appraisals, and targeted reforms to the RHS program.” —Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO, Mortgage Bankers Association

“Renters and housing providers can no longer afford the gap between rhetoric and real solutions. The ROAD to Housing Act takes critical steps forward by simplifying voucher inspections and cutting the red tape that delays projects. This bill has the potential to drive faster production, reduce costs, and expand opportunities across the country.” —Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO, National Apartment Association

“The ROAD to Housing Act will increase investments and remove unnecessary barriers to development to boost housing supply, bringing down housing costs for American families in urban, suburban, and rural communities.” —Sarah Brundage, president and CEO, National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders

“NAHB applauds the Senate Banking Committee for passing a bipartisan housing package to fix the housing crisis by addressing our nation’s critical lack of supply. Building more homes is the only way to ease America’s affordability crisis and the ROAD to Housing Act includes favorable provisions aimed at zoning and land-use policies, rural housing, and multifamily housing that will stimulate construction of sorely needed housing. We look forward to working with Congress and President Trump to enact a bicameral, bipartisan housing package that addresses supply-side and regulatory issues that are acting as barriers to build more homes.” —Buddy Hughes, chairman, National Association of Home Builders

“The housing affordability crisis has impacted every community in America, regardless of politics or geography. It requires urgent, bipartisan, comprehensive action. I am grateful to Scott and Warren for their leadership in crafting and advancing the ROAD to Housing Act, which seeks to expand and preserve housing supply, improve housing affordability and access, advance accountability and fiscal responsibility, and improve oversight and program integrity. The ROAD to Housing Act includes several important proposals that the National Housing Conference has long supported or endorsed, including the PRICE Act, Whole-Home Repairs Act, HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act, Choice in Affordable Housing Act, and Build More Housing Near Transit Act. The National Housing Conference is proud to support this legislation and looks forward to working with members of the Senate and House of Representatives to enact this bipartisan legislation.” —David M. Dworkin, president and CEO, National Housing Conference

“The ROAD to Housing Act finally treats housing supply as critical infrastructure by pairing zoning reform with smart incentives near transit and modernizing outdated rules. By aligning federal investment with local pro‑housing policies, Congress can help renters see real relief while spurring the private capital needed to build 4.3 million new apartments this decade.”  —Sharon Wilson Géno, president, National Multifamily Housing Council

“The ROAD to Housing Act is the pro-housing and pro-tech legislation we have long needed to spur housing development and remove barriers to affordability across the nation. Leveraging technology through the use of digital vouchers, enabling data-driven zoning best practices, reducing leasing friction, and helping housing providers streamline operations will enable a greater focus on building and preserving attainable homes for families when we need it most.” —Kevin Donnelly, executive director and chief advocacy officer, Real Estate Technology and Transformation Center