The Facts: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Cuts Red Tape, Builds More Homes, and Restores Accountability

The Facts: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Cuts Red Tape, Builds More Homes, and Restores Accountability

Washington, D.C. - Ahead of Senate consideration of comprehensive housing affordability legislation, Senate Banking Committee Republicans are releasing a series of fact sheets detailing how the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act increases housing supply, cuts regulations, and fights fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs to address housing affordability, as well as a Myth vs. Fact document to address misinformation surrounding the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

President Trump addressed housing affordability head on at the State of the Union and less than two weeks later, Congress is delivering on his promises. This week's vote builds on the success of the Working Families Tax Cut Act, advancing real solutions to restore the American dream of homeownership.

The legislation reflects years of bipartisan, bicameral work, and its base text passed unanimously out of the Senate Banking Committee. It now incorporates both Senate and House housing priorities into one comprehensive package and represents the most significant housing affordability and deregulatory effort to move through Congress in decades.

To read the bill text, click here.

To read the section-by-section, click here.

BACKGROUND:

The 21^st 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

The bill streamlines environmental reviews, modernizes manufactured housing rules, unlocks private investment, updates multifamily financing tools, streamlines construction activities across programs, and limits certain large institutional investors from crowding out families in residential markets.

Bottom line: The 21^st 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.

FACT: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act Delivers Common-Sense Deregulatory Reforms

The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act tackles affordability at the source by eliminating outdated regulations that make it harder and more expensive to build homes. According to HUD Secretary Turner, regulations account for roughly 25 percent of costs for a single-family housing project and 40 percent for multifamily development.

At its core, this bill empowers private industry and state and local governments to build more housing without unnecessary federal interference.

Bottom line: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act cuts red tape to increase housing supply, reduce costs, and expand opportunity for families across the country.

For the full fact sheet, click here.

FACT: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act Builds More Housing without Growing Government

The most effective way to lower costs is to build more homes. The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act advances commonsense, bipartisan solutions that unlock private capital, streamline outdated federal rules, and make existing programs work better.

At its core, this legislation increases housing supply by empowering private industry and local communities to build more homes, without expanding federal spending or undermining local control.

Bottom line: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act aligns with the President's affordability focus while keeping the federal government from trying to spend its way out of the problem.

For the full fact sheet, click here.

FACT: The ROAD to Housing Act Ensures Programs Deliver Real Results for Families and Communities:

The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act strengthens oversight, improves transparency, and demands accountability from federal housing programs that have operated on autopilot for far too long. The legislation includes strong oversight and performance measures, aligned with the Trump administration's focus on accountability across the federal bureaucracy.

At its core, this legislation reinforces that federal housing programs must serve families - not bureaucracies - by measuring outcomes and enforcing standards.

Bottom line: Not only does the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act focus on affordability, but it also restores accountability, protects taxpayers, and promotes upward mobility and self-sufficiency.

For the full fact sheet, click here.

FACT: The ROAD to Housing Act Keeps Families, Veterans, and Rural Communities at the Forefront:

As homeownership drifts further out of reach, families, veterans, and rural Americans often feel the pressure first. The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act advances commonsense, pro-growth solutions that promote self-sufficiency, protect vulnerable homeowners, and modernize rural housing programs to better serve those who rely on them.

At its core, this legislation recognizes that housing policy should reward work, respect service, and strengthen communities - especially in rural America.

Bottom line: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act delivers commonsense, pro-growth solutions that put families first, honor our veterans, and strengthen rural communities because every American deserves a fair shot at the dream of homeownership.

For the full fact sheet, click here.

FACT: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act prevents large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.

In his State of the Union Address, President Trump underscored an undeniable truth: "homes are for people, not corporations." He rightfully called for Congress to codify his proposal. In coordination with the White House, the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act answers the call to ensure more Americans can own a home of their own, while preserving targeted exceptions that maintain an adequate housing supply for families not yet ready to buy.

Bottom line: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act delivers on President Trump's top housing priority: getting large institutional investors out of the way to ensure American families can have a home of their own. Homes are for people, not corporations.

For the full fact sheet, click here.

Myth vs. Fact: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act

TOPLINE: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act is the first comprehensive housing bill in at least a decade. It is a bipartisan, bicameral product built on years of hard work. Its supporters include housing advocates, bank trades, builders, and housing professionals such as realtors. It passed out of the Senate Banking Committee unanimously, 24-0.

Myth 1: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act spends government dollars.

Fact: According to the Congressional Budget Office, the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act does not score. In fact, to even be considered for the National Defense Authorization Act, ROAD had to be budget neutral. And by design, it spends no government funds. While the bill authorizes a small handful of pilot programs, it requires Congress to appropriate funding later, meaning Congress ultimately retains full control over whether any dollars are spent.

Myth 2: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act is a Senate-only product.

Fact: Of the 36 provisions of the Senate Banking Committee-passed and White House-endorsed ROAD, over 90% are based on bicameral work from Chairman Scott's first iteration of the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act from October 2024 or have introduced House companions.

Myth 3: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act is a liberal giveaway.

Fact: The overwhelming majority of the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act is composed of bipartisan bills and provisions drawn directly from Chairman Scott's original bicameral 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act introduced in October 2024. Only two provisions in this bill - roughly 5% - came from partisan legislation. For years, Democrats have argued that rising housing costs could only be addressed through new subsidies and expanded government programs. ROAD rejects that premise by providing no new subsidies and demonstrating that a market-based, bipartisan consensus is possible.

Myth 4: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act didn't go through regular order.

Fact: Chairman Scott introduced his original, bicameral 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act in October 2024, based on years of stakeholder engagement. After becoming Chairman, he convened a hearing in March 2025 to examine barriers to housing. Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Warren then spent months building on the Chairman's original ROAD package, negotiating a comprehensive package with input from all Banking Committee colleagues. The bill was introduced and marked up in July 2025 and passed unanimously, 24-0. Since then, the Chairman has continued engaging stakeholders nationwide.

Myth 5: The ROAD to Housing Act preempts local zoning decisions.

Fact: By design, the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act does not preempt local or state zoning. This is one reason why the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities support the bill. Chairman Scott believes zoning decisions are best made locally, not in Washington.

Myth 6: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act is anti-family and only helps renters.

Fact: Chairman Scott recognizes a basic market truth: increasing supply creates more pathways to homeownership. While additional housing will certainly lower rents for those who choose to rent, ROAD's premise is that "rising tides raise all boats." By making it easier for builders to build, lenders to lend responsibly, and families to save, the bill expands options for both renters and future homeowners.

Myth 7: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act builds upon failed programs.

Fact: ROAD rethinks and modernizes existing housing programs. It refreshes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the federal government's largest affordable housing construction program, for the first time in over 30 years. It streamlines inspections, encourages innovation, and tests time-limited pilots to evaluate better approaches before making permanent changes.

Examples of time-limited, innovative, bipartisan pilot proposals include:

• Streamlining the Lead and Healthy Homes program to work better for communities, especially rural ones, focused on preservation
• Testing blight remediation as a housing solution in communities like Gary, Indiana
• Directing federal housing dollars toward communities that prioritize affordability, in a budget-neutral way
• Re-examining homelessness programs to ensure they work effectively for communities on the front lines

BOTTOM LINE: The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act cuts through the rhetoric with bipartisan, budget-neutral reforms that build more housing, protect local control, and prove that Congress can lower costs for families without growing government.

For the full Myth vs. Fact document, click here.

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