Housing Oregon is encouraged to see the U.S. Senate pass the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on March 12 by an 89-10 vote. The package brings together major pieces of the Senate’s earlier ROAD to Housing Act and the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act, making it one of the most substantial bipartisan housing packages Congress has moved in many years. Housing Oregon endorsed this concept during our October Policy Council meetings.
The bill would place new limits on large institutional investors buying single-family homes, modernize federal support for manufactured and modular housing, create tools to convert vacant commercial and industrial buildings into housing, expand flexibility in federal housing programs, and reward state, local, tribal, and regional efforts to cut barriers and speed up housing production.
The House passed a related housing package earlier this year, so Congress still needs to reconcile the differences between the two versions before a final bill can move to the president’s desk. Even so, the Senate vote is a real step forward and a welcome sign that housing affordability, supply, and fair access to homeownership and rental opportunity can still draw broad bipartisan support.
For more to read: Up For Growth – Coalition Statement: Senate Passes 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act