Majority Leader | Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSR...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board03.10.26Delivering on President Trump’s Housing Priorities: Cutting Red Tape, Increasing Supply, and Helping Families Get AheadThe Bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Will Make It Easier to Build and Buy Homes and Delivers on President Trump’s Key Housing Priorities “Passing the ROAD to Housing Act will help Americans buy homes in the communities they love, and will provide real opportunities for struggling parents like my mom who did everything for our family. That’s why it must make it to the president’s desk without delay.” – Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.)THE 21ST CENTURY ROAD TO HOUSING ACT ADDRESSES ONE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’S TOP AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS – THE COST OF OWNING A HOME“[I]t’s red tape that is helping to drive up the cost of homes — red tape and regulation… If we can pass the ROAD to Housing Act, we’ll be able to help cut the red tape that exists there. We’ll be able to unlock billions of dollars in private capital. This will help us create more supply and bring the cost down.” – Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.)“Across the country, as housing and other costs continue to outpace income increases, many middle-class home buyers… are finding they can’t easily scrape together a down payment on their own. That has prompted city, state and nonprofit programs to expand eligibility for down-payment support — with some areas offering loans to people making more than $200,000.” (The Washington Post: Housing is so expensive that people earning $200,000 qualify for help – 3/6/26)“The Urban Institute found that home sales prices have risen 80 percent since 2017, while wages have grown 38 percent.” (The Washington Post: Housing is so expensive that people earning $200,000 qualify for help – 3/6/26)To tackle the rising cost of housing, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act “lowers costs by increasing supply, empowering local communities, and protecting taxpayers, proving that Congress can solve big problems by addressing housing affordability concerns with common sense solutions.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: The Facts: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Cuts Red Tape, Builds More Homes, and Restores Accountability – 3/2/26)“The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is built around four core pillars:”“Cutting red tape”“Unlocking housing supply”“Lowering costs for families”“Including no new mandatory federal spending” (U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: The Facts: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Cuts Red Tape, Builds More Homes, and Restores Accountability – 3/2/26)THE LEGISLATION HAS NUMEROUS MEMBER-DRIVEN POLICY WINS THAT LOWER REGULATORY BARRIERS AND HELP VETERANS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES WITH HOUSING AFFORDABILITY“This bipartisan bill includes a wide range of proposals focused on increasing housing supply by cutting red tape and unlocking private capital. It updates federal housing laws and empowers communities to address local housing needs.” – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)The Community Investment and Prosperity Act, introduced by Chairman Scott, Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), “increases a statutory cap limiting banks’ investments in community development projects, which will unlock billions in capital for affordable housing, small businesses, financial education, and other economic development needs in communities that need it the most.” (U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Scott, Blunt Rochester, Moreno, Kim Lead Effort to Increase Private Investment in Low-Income Housing Projects – 7/24/25)Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has several bills included to “address the housing affordability crisis by making it faster and more efficient to rehabilitate existing buildings and start construction for new residential properties, as well as modernize regulations in places where development costs are extremely high.” (Sen. Rounds: Rounds Introduces Legislation to Cut Federal Red Tape, Build Housing Faster – 7/23/25)Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Mike Crapo’s (R-Idaho) Housing Supply Expansion Act removes the outdated federal chassis requirement, which will lower the cost of manufactured homes and jumpstart innovation. (Sen. Tillis: Tillis, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Increase Housing Supply, Reduce Costs – 7/24/25)“According to the Niskanen Center, removing the chassis requirement would reduce the construction costs of each manufactured home by up to $5,000-$10,000. With thousands of homes built annually, this regulation adds hundreds of millions of dollars in needless housing costs.” (Competitive Enterprise Institute: Cut the steel, cut the cost: Why Congress is right to scrap the chassis mandate – 2/19/26)The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act also includes several bills addressing housing costs for veterans and those living in rural areas:The Rural Housing Service Reform Act enacts reforms to the existing Rural Hosing Service, including decoupling rental assistance from maturing mortgages to preserve affordable housing in rural areas. (Sen. Rounds: Rounds, Smith Reintroduce Bipartisan Rural Housing Legislation – 4/7/25)The Streamlining Rural Housing Act directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Agriculture align their joint environmental reviews for housing projects funded by both agencies, streamlining and simplifying the building process. (Sen. Moran: Sens. Moran, Ricketts, Shaheen, Gallego Introduce Legislation to Streamline Rural Housing Regulations – 7/24/25)The VA Home Loan Awareness Act “aims to help more veterans take advantage of the VA Home Loan program…” (Sen. Sheehy: Sheehy’s Bipartisan VA Home Loan Awareness Act Passes Senate Banking Committee – 7/29/25)THE 21ST CENTURY ROAD TO HOUSING ACT ALSO INCLUDES PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PRIORITIES TO BAN A CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY AND RESTRICT LARGE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS’ OWNERSHIP OF SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES “President Trump’s leadership is lowering housing costs for American families. He cut red tape in permitting and construction and directed key agencies to keep Wall Street out of the starter home market. And he delivered the most significant federal investment in affordable housing in decades via the Working Families Tax Cut Act. Today, the Senate has an opportunity to build on this progress — in a serious, bipartisan way — by passing the ROAD to Housing Act.” – Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.)The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act codifies President Trump’s executive order banning the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency:“The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban [Affairs] included a provision temporarily barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency in its bipartisan bill to boost housing in the U.S.” (CoinDesk: U.S. Senate housing bill includes CBDC ban – 3/2/26)“Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are digital forms of a country's fiat currency issued and regulated by its central bank, and are fixed in value by the government.” (Investopedia: Understanding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): A Comprehensive Guide – 9/26/25)On the fourth day of his second term, President Trump issued an executive order “taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States…” (White House: Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology – 1/23/25)The bill also codifies President Trump’s executive order preventing large institutional investors from buying up single-family housing:It “would require that over time, large institutional investors shed homes in their portfolios instead of adding them. It also says that while investors and private equity firms can build new construction, they have to eventually sell to real people within seven years.” (The Washington Post: Senate bill to help Americans afford housing nears the finish line – 3/4/26)In January, President Trump signed an executive order designed to “preserve the supply of single-family homes for American families and increase the paths to homeownership” by issuing guidance “that large institutional investors should not buy single-family homes that could otherwise be purchased by families.” (White House: Stopping Wall Street From Competing With Main Street Homebuyers – 1/20/26)“I signed executive order to ban large Wall Street investment firms from buying up, in the thousands, single family homes. And now I’m asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because homes for people — really, that’s what we want. We want homes for people, not for corporations.” – President Donald TrumpPrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
