8

8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS HOUSING Policy Brief: 2026 bipartisan national bill “21st Century ROAD to Housing” WILL SHAKESEPARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 Housing is a crisis all over the world. Affordable housing has been a crisis since the founding of the United States of America in the 18th century. National efforts to address affordable housing and livable housing gained momentum in the 20th century. World War I and World War II led to the influx of refugees and immigrants from Europe. Millions of “guest workers” from Central and South America were invited to help power the manufacturing industries and provide much-needed help in the agricultural sector. Also, during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, America experienced a nation-wide phenomena which was described by journalists, sociologists, economists, anthropologists and historians as “The Great Black Migration.” Award-Wining journalist Nicholas Lehman wrote a highly informative book titled, “The Great Black Migration and How it Changed America.” Most of the south to north migrants settled in the major industrial and urban areas such as Detroit, Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Boston, Cincinnati and Milwaukee. Demographers have said that in the 1970s and 1980s, many regions in America experienced what is described as a “rural renaissance." Suburban and exurban growth meant that industries and businesses became "footloose” and moved away from city centers of large cities. Urbanization and migration have become a major factor in our national housing crisis. The other key factor is the lack of federal leadership in the development, maintenance and provision of affordable housing. Recently, Congress, with overwhelming majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate, passed the “21st Century ROAD to Housing” legislation."ROAD" stands for Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream. President Trump did not sign it into law; however, it became law after 21 days because it was veto-proof. Why? The house passed the Bill by more than 300 votes. The Senate passed the Bill 85-5. Overview of the 21st Century Road to Housing On June 30th, the Urban Institute published a report titled, “Congress Has Finally Passed Major Housing Reform: The Real Work Starts Now.” The report said that the law "is a major bipartisan achievement that could represent a turning point for how the federal government approaches the national housing crisis. If implemented intentionally, this law could lay the foundation for a broader national housing affordability strategy.” The Urban Institute identified a few strategic steps which would “help shape how much of this legislation improves housing affordability for everyday America.” Those strategic steps include how the ROAD to Housing will (1) enable the market to expand housing supply; (2) recognize that increasing housing affordability depends on federal capacity; and (3) add dozens of items to HUD’s to-do list, likely beyond its current capacity. On July 26, New York Times Washington D.C. Bureau reporter Ronda Kaysen wrote an article titled, “How a Housing Bill Trump Spurned Became Law.” It mentioned that in 2025, when Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts “went to her fellow Democrats during their weekly lunch to suggest working with Republicans on a major new housing bill, she was met with trepidation and doubt.” It continued, “Members of her party had long wanted to tackle the housing crisis, but most assumed that there was no way they could overcome deep divisions with Republicans to agree on the kind of landmark legislation Ms. Warren envisioned.” How did the Democrats and Warren overcome the skepticism and fear of Champions of HR 6644: Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-D), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA-D), Rep. Tim Scott (SC-R) and Rep. French Hill (AR-R). deep division? They enlisted the leadership of Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and other Republican and Independent members of Congress who care about affordability, especially this election year, 2026. Most members wanted to let people in their states and congressional districts know that they are associated with a major bill which would help improve affordability. Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking member of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, worked with Sen. Warren and other congressional delegates to get the bill passed. Below is a list of the key titles and provisions of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing legislation: Title 1–Improving Financial Literacy. Sec. 101-Reforms to housing counseling and financial literacy programs. Title 2–Building More in America. Sec. 202. Whole-Home Repairs Act. Sec. 203. Community Investment and Prosperity Act. Sec. 204. Addition of affordable housing construction as an eligible activity. Sec. 205. Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development (BUILD) Housing Act. Sec. 206. POLICY HIGHLIGHTS Section 107-Housing Supply Frameworks HUD will publish best-practice guidelines (“frameworks”) to help local governments modernize zoning and land-use codes in service of building more housing. Of note, communities are explicitly encouraged to consider land banks as key partners. Section 204-CDBG Affordable Housing Construction adds new construction of affordable housing as an eligible CDBG activity, capped at 20% of a recipient’s allocation. This gives communities a new way to use future CDBG funds for infill and affordable housing development. Section 210-RESIDE: This 5-year pilot program provides $1 million-$10 million awards to convert vacant commercial or industrial buildings into attainable housing. It prioritizes economically distressed areas and Opportunity Zones and can serve up to 120% area median income (AMI) if the majority of units are at 60% AMI or below. Section 501-Additional HOME Program Reforms reauthorizes HOME and strengthens pathways for shared-equity ownership, community land trusts, limited-equity cooperatives, and community development corporations to preserve long-term affordability of HOME-assisted homes. It also waives repayment if a property becomes financially distressed due to market circumstances beyond individual control. Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act. Sec. 207. Grants for planning and implementation associated with affordable housing. Sec. 208. Innovation Fund. Sec. 209. Accelerating Home Building Act. Sec. 210. Revitalizing Empty Structures Into Desirable Environments (RESIDE) Act. Sec. 211. Housing Affordability Act. Sec. 212. Rental Assistance Demonstration Program. Sec. 213. Build Now Act. Title 3–Manufactured Housing for America. Title 4–Accessing the American Dream. Title 5–Program Reform. Title 6–Veterans and Housing Title 7–Oversight and Accountability Title 8–Accountability, Coordination, Studies and Reporting see HOUSING page 11  AUGUST 7, 2026

9 Publizr Home