On June 22, the Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 85–5. The legislation now heads to the House for final consideration and could reach the President's desk in the coming weeks.
As previously reported by PHADA, the bipartisan, bicameral compromise bill contains several provisions supported by the Association, including:
- Increasing the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) unit cap from 455,000 to 555,000.
- Requiring HUD to study the impacts of Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements on HOME-funded construction.
- Increasing the public welfare investment (PWI) cap from 15% to 20%.
- Streamlining certain environmental review requirements.
- Removing problematic Build-to-Rent (BTR) restrictions included in earlier Senate versions of the legislation.
PHADA continues to oppose the bill's Moving to Work (MTW) provisions, which would impose significant new reporting requirements on existing MTW agencies and establish a new MTW cohort with limited flexibilities.
The Senate's strong bipartisan support reflects the broad consensus behind the legislation, for one of the most significant housing packages considered by Congress in many years. PHADA will continue to monitor the bill as it moves through the House and will provide additional analysis in a forthcoming edition of the Advocate.