Earlier today, the Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on a bipartisan 89–10 vote. Among those voting against the bill were nine Republicans and one Democrat. Text of the final bill, along with a section-by-section summary, are available on the Senate Banking Committee website.
PHADA—along with industry group partners and 14 other organizations—issued a statement earlier this week requesting that the House and Senate enter conference negotiations to reconcile differences between each chamber’s bipartisan housing bills.
The Association is especially concerned with three aspects of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and hope to see these concerns addressed through a conference:
- The bill imposes burdensome and infeasible reporting requirements on existing Moving to Work (MTW) agencies, and proposes a MTW expansion cohort that would have flexibilities so limited that agencies would be significantly constrained in their ability to innovate.
- It does not include a study on the impact of Build America, Buy America (BABA) policies on HOME construction that was included in the House bill.
- It places restrictions on Built-to-Rent (BTR) construction, which will limit housing choice for families with Housing Choice Vouchers.
PHADA will provide additional coverage of the bill’s passage and its legislative future in the forthcoming edition of the Advocate.