A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a comprehensive proposal designed to modernize federal housing policy and address the shortage of affordable homes in communities nationwide.
Spearheaded by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill and Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters, along with Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance leadership Chairman Rep. Mike Flood and Ranking Member Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, the Act seeks to streamline outdated housing programs, remove unnecessary federal barriers, and provide increased flexibility for local housing efforts.
The Act’s sponsors assert that housing production has failed to keep pace with rising demand, leading to significant affordability challenges for Americans seeking to purchase or rent homes.
“Our Committee is dedicated to finding new ways to foster a home building and buying environment where achieving the American Dream is in reach for our families across the nation,” said Rep. Hill. “Our goal is to chart a path forward toward greater development capacity and a simplified regulatory framework. I’m proud to advance this package with Ranking Member Waters, Subcommittee Chair Flood, and Ranking Member Cleaver to tackle housing costs and access challenges for American homeowners and renters. We look forward to moving this bill through regular order and working with our Senate counterparts in the new year to get a bill signed into law that reflects ideas from both chambers and delivers real results for American families.”
Contributing factors such as cost inflation, prolonged regulatory delays, and restrictive zoning policies have exacerbated the supply gap, leaving families, veterans, and low-income households with limited options. The new legislation is intended to directly confront these obstacles by modernizing standards, simplifying federal processes, and boosting housing production nationwide.
Key components of the Housing for the 21st Century Act include efforts to expand the housing supply by reducing bureaucratic barriers at both federal and local levels, updating federal housing programs with more effective standards and administration, and enhancing support for innovative building methods such as manufactured and factory-built housing. The Act also focuses on strengthening local housing operations and community capacities to deliver affordable homes in both urban and rural settings.
“As housing gets more expensive, the American Dream of homeownership is slipping away for working families,” said Rep. Flood. “This package is the product of bipartisan work in the Financial Services Committee to address some of the core issues driving up the cost of housing. I want to thank Chairman Hill, Ranking Member Waters, and my counterpart on the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver for working together to produce this strong, bipartisan package. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation through the committee, move it across the House floor, and ultimately to get these critical reforms enacted into law.”
In addition to expanding supply, the legislation aims to improve access to affordable homeownership through expanded financing pathways, including support for manufactured housing and small-dollar mortgage options. It also emphasizes greater transparency and consumer protections for homeowners and borrowers navigating affordability pressures, ensuring that federal housing programs operate efficiently and accountably.
“Housing affordability is a bipartisan issue that demands federal, state, and local solutions. MBA welcomes the heightened focus on this important issue from both the Trump administration and Congress," said Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “We are proud to support the pro-housing proposals introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which advance several MBA-backed reforms. These include updating Federal Housing Administration multifamily loan limits, streamlining federal housing program offerings, improving financing options for Rural Housing Service loans, providing targeted support for construction and rehabilitation, and fostering coordination among federal agencies and Congress. Many of those same priorities are reflected in the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott-led (R-SC) ROAD to Housing Act, which MBA also supports for its numerous measures that benefit both prospective homeowners and renters.
"Bipartisan action on housing gained momentum with yesterday's introduction of the Housing for the 21st Century Act by House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, Ranking Member Maxine Waters, Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chair Mike Flood, and Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver, II," said Dennis Shea, Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) executive vice president and chair of the Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy. "The bill proposes practical updates to federal programs that would help lower housing costs and support local efforts to remove barriers to building affordable homes. The Terwilliger Center looks forward to next week’s committee markup. High housing costs strain millions of households across the country. Passage of comprehensive legislation early next year — bringing together the House’s work and the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act — would show that Congress can respond to a top public concern and encourage state and local leaders to boost housing supply and improve affordability."
