House Advances Major Housing Bill Aimed at Tamping Down Rising Affordability Concerns

The House's capstone housing affordability package will come to the floor on Monday ahead of a potential vote.

The Housing for the 21st Century Act, the bipartisan package with a range of provisions aimed at tamping down the rising costs of owning a home, is on the floor agenda. Arkansas Rep. J. French Hill, a Republican who introduced the bill, said in an op-ed in The Hill on Friday that he aims to see it pass.

The bill passed out of committee 50-1 in December. It may be considered under suspension of the rules, according to the House floor calendar. That procedure carries special rules that limit debate and prohibit floor amendments on the bill. A two-thirds vote is required to pass it.

Such a move comes as the government contends with rampant pessimism in a housing market dominated by worries that homes are increasingly out of reach for many Americans. Both parties have made housing a major political issue in a session with few other bipartisan issues.

Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood, also a Republican, who chairs the subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, joined Hill in the op-ed.

"Bottom line, when there aren’t enough homes, prices go up. The Housing for the 21st Century Act includes real, bipartisan solutions to boost development by clearing out red tape and letting communities and local banks do their job," they wrote. "That’s how we expand supply, lower costs and give families more options."

A similar affordability-minded bipartisan bill in the Senate, the ROAD (Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream) to Housing Act, advanced last summer and was placed on the National Defense Authorization Act. But it was removed in December.

Housing for the 21st Century Act explained

The 199-page bill has about two dozen provisions. It proposes new rules to streamline reviews, exempt some smaller developments from certain requirements, and modernize local development and housing programs.

It also expands financing for manufactured and affordable housing, includes provisions for the financing of multifamily homes, and proposes reforms for housing counseling and financial literacy programs.

Finally, it requires more reporting and study on barriers to housing, especially for the elderly and disabled, and mandates more oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and public housing agencies.

Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said the aim is to build more homes of all types, including single-family, multifamily, and manufactured homes.

Bipartisan focus on solving the housing crisis

Tim Larson, president and CEO of Champion Homes, praised the law in a Feb. 4 earnings call, saying it will boost the prospects for off-site homebuilders, who face headwinds with the slowing housing market.

"There remains a strong bipartisan focus on solving the housing crisis, and we believe that is the foundation for the Senate and the House to work together to enact meaningful legislation," Larson said.

Passage of the Housing for the 21st Century Act bill could give the Senate momentum to advance the ROAD to Housing Act, said Francis Torres, director of housing for the Bipartisan Policy Center.

"It really gets at the key topic in domestic policy, which is affordability," Torres said. "Housing is the No. 1 economic issue, the fact that there is this momentum and voter interest might generate the bipartisan push to get over the key differences."

But the specifics of solving the affordability crisis aren't straightforward. The Senate's version takes some provisions further than the House version. Some Senate provisions related to disaster recovery, rental administration, and grant programs could lead to greater spending, and thus resistance from the House.

Torres said the bills are a window for a few different kinds of interests to intersect in a common cause. That includes those cheering more homebuilding, those who want to reduce regulations, and those who want broader government reform.

"These bills don't emerge from a vacuum. They're a collection of ideas that have been in development in the pipeline for a very long time," Torres said. "Lawmakers will have to reconcile, but both bills really signal that housing is a very valuable opportunity for bipartisan action in a Congress that doesn't see a lot of that happening right now. It's a testament to the importance of housing."