03/13/2026
Credit: C-SPAN
The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill aimed at making housing more affordable, seeking to address a key cost-of-living issue ahead of the midterms, though its fate remains unclear.
The vote was 89–10, with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) joining nine Republican senators in opposition.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — written by Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the leaders of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee — would create a series of grant and pilot programs for housing construction aimed at boosting supply while reducing regulatory burdens on builders.
It would also set new limits on institutional investors, preventing them from purchasing large numbers of single-family homes — a key priority for President Trump, who signed an executive order on the issue in January.
Housing affordability has become a top concern for Republican and Democratic voters alike, as reflected in the strong bipartisan vote.
Home prices are up about 50% since the start of the pandemic, when low interest rates fueled a housing boom. After the rush, supply dropped and interest rates spiked, grinding the market to a halt.
Sen. Scott said the bill is aimed at producing more homeowners, noting that the average age of a first-time homeowner is now 40 — a sharp increase from 2021, when the median age was 33.
“Let’s create more homeowners at an earlier age,” he said ahead of the vote. “The age of affordability is now, and the solution to affordability is in fact us.”
The legislation now heads to the House, which approved its version of the bill in a 390–9 vote last month. House members of both parties are unhappy with the Senate version, leaving the bill’s fate uncertain.
Conservatives are upset with a provision that would temporarily ban the Federal Reserve from creating a digital currency, arguing that the restriction should be permanent. Others oppose some of the rent-control and pricing-control provisions.
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