Washington — The Senate approved a package of bills aimed at lowering housing costs on Thursday, the most sweeping housing legislation in decades and a rare point of bipartisan consensus in an election year, with the issue of affordability top of mind for many voters.
But the path forward in the House remains uncertain given conservative opposition to some portions of the bill, despite support from President Trump.
The Senate passed the measure, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, by a wide bipartisan margin of 89 to 10. The senators who voted against the bill were Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Republicans Ted Budd of North Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Todd Young of Indiana.
Sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, the bill aims to streamline the building of new homes and ease regulations to cut costs. It would also prohibit institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, a provision that the White House has sought.
Proponents of the bill have lauded it as the largest and most significant housing package in a generation. The bill limits institutional investors from buying single-family homes, which supporters say would cut competition and benefit homebuyers.
“This bill offers real solutions that will unlock new home construction, drive down prices, and increase the supply of affordable homes,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier this week as he teed up the vote. “It’s the product of good ideas from both parties and from both houses of Congress.”
The House approved a version of the measure last month in a 390 to 9 vote. At the time, GOP leaders fast-tracked the bill with support from the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans. But since then, the Senate substituted its own version, meaning the lower chamber would have to reconsider the changes to the measure.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, touted the housing bill as part of the GOP’s broader efforts to tackle affordability this week, saying at a news conference that he’s hopeful the two chambers can “find a common ground to make housing more affordable for families.”
But opposition from some House conservatives has threatened its passage. The legislation includes a temporary ban on the central bank issuing digital currency, which some lawmakers want to make permanent. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland told Politico that the House will “deal with housing in some way — it’s not going to be the way the Senate is going to send it over to the House.”
The Senate forged ahead on its version of the bill despite the opposition, stressing that it includes much of what the House passed. But whether House leaders will accept the changes, amend the Senate bill or go to conference over the differing versions remains to be seen. The next steps could come down to the White House’s influence.
Thune told reporters Thursday morning that if the White House wants the House to approve the Senate version of the bill, “they’ll probably have to make that argument to House leadership.”
“Could there be a conference? That’s always a possibility,” Thune said. “But obviously, the quickest way to get this done would be to pick up the Senate bill and pass it.”
The president’s input on the bill could tip the scales in either direction. But Mr. Trump threatened earlier this week that he would not sign other legislation until Congress passes an elections bill known as the SAVE America Act, a sign that the housing bill is not a priority.
Mr. Trump has advocated for provisions addressing corporate home ownership. In January, he signed an executive order directing federal agencies to avoid facilitating the sale of single-family homes that could be purchased by individuals to large institutional investors. During the State of the Union, the president reiterated the push, urging Congress to pass legislation backing it up.
The Office of Management and Budget indicated in a statement of administrative policy that the White House supports the Senate version of the bill, saying it represents “significant advances in federal housing policy to further the goals of expanding housing supply and affordability.”
But speaking to House Republicans at their retreat in Florida this week, the president said “the people are demanding” the SAVE America Act, not housing legislation.
“That’s all they talk about. They don’t talk about housing, they don’t talk about anything,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s what they talk about.”
The push to address housing costs comes as Americans struggle with high housing costs. A CBS News poll found last month that more than 8 in 10 Americans say it’s now harder to buy a home than it was for earlier generations. And homebuyers need to earn 43% more than the average worker to afford a typical home, according to Federal Reserve data.
