Thune: Senate Bill to Unlock Affordable Housing for Working Families

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Mr. President, ask a group of people what they think of when they think of the American dream, and homeownership is pretty likely to come up.

"A house, a neighborhood, a yard for the kids (or pet) to play.

"Getting the keys to a place of your own.

"That's a part of the American dream for a lot of Americans.

"But it's a part of the American dream that has been increasingly out of reach for many.

"A lot of Americans - particularly younger Americans - are simply being priced out of the housing market.

"Home prices have risen sharply in the past few years - surging roughly 50 percent since the pandemic, according to the New York Times.

"A 2025 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard reported, and I quote, 'the US median existing single-family home price hit a new high of $412,500 in 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors. This is a shocking five times the median household income and significantly above the price-to-income ratio of 3 that has traditionally been considered affordable."

"Well, with numbers like these, Mr. President, it's no wonder that the age of first-time homebuyers has risen sharply as well - to an all-time high of age 40.

"Mr. President, the American people have been through a lot over the last few years - notably the historic inflation crisis that defined the Biden administration.

"And since we took office last January, Republicans' priority here in Congress has been easing the burden on hardworking Americans.

"That started with preventing the massive, $2.6 trillion tax hike that was scheduled to hit Americans making less than $400,000 a year.

"And it continued with a slew of new tax relief for hardworking Americans in the Working Families Tax Cuts, which Republicans passed last summer.

"There's nothing like having more money in your pocket to make it a little easier to deal with financial challenges and unexpected bills.

"In January of this year, we took aim at health care costs, with a bill that included multiple measures to lower the price of prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter.

"And this week, Mr. President, we are tackling the challenges of homeownership and beginning work on the most significant housing bill in a decade or more.

"The ROAD to Housing Act, the product of extensive work from the Senate Banking Committee (and particularly from its chairman Tim Scott), packages together a number of bills focused on lowering housing costs and increasing housing supply.

"And it takes aim at these goals in multiple ways.

"One primary focus of the bill is removing unnecessary regulatory barriers that drive up the cost of housing or complicate construction.

"The bill's Housing Supply Expansion Act, for example - which is the product of Senators Britt, Tillis, Crapo, and others - removes the outdated chassis requirement for manufactured housing.

"This will not only lower the cost of manufactured homes, but it will also allow for more innovation in the manufactured-home design process, such as two-story houses.

"Manufactured homes are already substantially less expensive than site-built dwellings, and removing the outdated chassis rule will further increase their affordability - and create more manufactured options that suit more families.

"And that, Mr. President, is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Senator Rounds has multiple bills in the ROAD to Housing Act that will increase housing supply by streamlining the environmental review process.

"The Choice in Affordable Housing Act - the work of Senators Cramer, Sullivan, Moran, and Curtis as well as others - will streamline inspection requirements for affordable homes financed by multiple government programs.

"And I could go on.

"There are a lot more measures in the ROAD to Housing Act to eliminate or streamline regulations.

"And with regulations accounting for around 25 percent of the costs of constructing a single-family dwelling, and for roughly 40 percent of the costs of multifamily housing projects, anything we can do to streamline and simplify can go a long way toward making housing more affordable.

"But the ROAD to Housing Act does a lot more than simply targeting unnecessary regulations.

"The act is also designed to unleash private-sector investment in more affordable homes.

"ROAD Act legislation from Senators Scott, Moreno, McCormick, Cassidy, and Crapo, for example, will increase a statutory cap that limits banks' ability to invest in more affordable housing and other community development projects.

"The Build Now Act from Senator Kennedy creates a pilot program to incentivize a wide variety of housing development in communities that participate in the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

"Mr. President, there's a lot more in the ROAD to Housing Act than I can discuss in one speech.

"There's much more I could say on the ways this bill will streamline regulation and unleash investment.

"And I haven't even mentioned the bill's provisions to help veterans, or increase the supply of housing in rural communities, or help Americans living in government-assisted housing build the savings they need for homeownership.

"There is a lot in this bill, Mr. President.

"And I want to extend my thanks to Banking Committee Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren for putting in the work to assemble so many good pieces of legislation and to get the final product to the floor.

"The ROAD to Housing Act doesn't spend a single taxpayer dollar, Mr. President.

"But by removing barriers to affordable housing construction and unleashing investment, this bill stands to open the door to affordable homes for hardworking Americans around the country.

"And I look forward to passing this legislation in the very near future."

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