Senate Votes 89-9 to Advance First Major Housing Bill in Three Decades

The Senate voted 89-9-1 Wednesday to advance the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a sweeping bipartisan housing package that its architects say could become the first major housing legislation enacted in roughly three decades. The lopsided procedural vote sets up a possible final Senate passage by week's end, though significant obstacles remain in the House.

The compromise package, released March 2 by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), merges the Senate's ROAD to Housing Act (S.2651) with major provisions from the House-passed 21st Century Housing Act (H.R.6644). The legislation includes incentives to spur new home construction, a program to convert abandoned buildings into housing developments, new grants to rehabilitate existing homes, a ban on large institutional investors purchasing single-family homes with certain exceptions, and a temporary prohibition on the Federal Reserve issuing a central bank digital currency through 2030.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune framed the bill as a supply-side answer to the nation's affordability crisis. "This bill isn't some new government program that will drive up costs to taxpayers while doing little or nothing to solve housing problems for everyday Americans," he said on the floor Tuesday. "This bill offers real solutions that will unlock new home construction, drive down prices, and increase the supply of affordable homes."

Scott called the package a vehicle for "cutting regulatory red tape, lowering costs, and expanding housing supply," while Warren urged swift action: "Congress should pass this package and continue working on further legislation to combat our nation's housing crisis."

Most of the nine "no" votes came from conservative Republicans. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy supporting the compromise as written ahead of the procedural vote, lending the measure an early executive endorsement.

The institutional investor provision, however, has fractured the bill's coalition before it clears either chamber. The National Association of Home Builders withdrew its support over the new language restricting corporate home purchases, a notable defection from a key industry ally. The provision reflects a White House priority to curb large investors from acquiring a majority of single-family homes, but it has introduced friction with builders who argue the restrictions could complicate housing finance and development.

The path through the House is uncertain. Majority Leader Steve Scalise indicated Wednesday that the lower chamber may not take up the Senate bill without modifications. "House Financial Services Chairman French Hill and his members are going to be working to hopefully find a common ground to make housing more affordable for families," Scalise told reporters.

Advocacy groups representing older adults also flagged gaps in the legislation. LeadingAge noted that the Senate compromise stripped out previously negotiated provisions that would have required additional funding, including improvements to the Section 202 supportive housing program and new special-purpose vouchers for older adults. Those omissions reflect the tradeoffs Scott and Warren made to assemble a package broad enough to attract near-unanimous procedural support.

If enacted, the Banking Committee says the legislation would mark the largest housing package Congress has passed in decades. Whether the House accepts the Senate's version or forces a renegotiation will determine whether that milestone arrives before the current legislative calendar closes.