WASHINGTON \u2014 The Senate passed a bill Thursday aimed at boosting the supply of housing and bringing down prices, marking a rare bipartisan breakthrough on a major issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, written by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., won 89 votes. Ten senators voted against it. Scott is the chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Warren is the ranking member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 303-page legislation creates a series of grants and pilot programs for housing construction, while revising federal definitions to encourage more housing units and prevent Wall Street from buying up tons of single-family homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such a big, bipartisan vote is increasingly unusual in Congress and the bill aims to tackle a major affordability issue for voters ahead of the midterm elections. But it is uncertain if it can pass the House as is, and President Donald Trump has signaled he’s not as interested in the package as he is in passing separate voting legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The housing bill seeks to cut inspection delays for the Department of Housing and Urban Development by creating other avenues to satisfy requirements, while directing HUD and the Department of Agriculture to jointly coordinate environmental reviews for certain housing projects to boost construction in rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One key section, titled Homes Are For People, Not Corporations, “prohibits large institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes” as a way “to promote homeownership opportunities for American families, not corporations,” according to an official summary. Trump called on Congress to pass legislation banning large Wall Street firms from buying up thousands of single-family homes in his State of the Union address this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation gives both parties an opening to claim victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott said it\u2019s about fulfilling Trump\u2019s affordability agenda by \u201ccutting regulatory red tape, lowering costs and expanding housing supply while generating no new spending\u201d and expanding homeownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warren cast the bill as an attempt at \u201cincreasing housing supply and bringing down costs\u201d by taking on investors who are buying up homes and increasing prices for individuals and families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt will mean, for the first time, that we\u2019re moving housing prices in a better direction and beating private equity out of the system \u2014 making a very public statement that homes are for the families who live there, not for Wall Street investors who figured out another way to make a buck,\u201d Warren told NBC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only Democrat who voted against the bill was Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who argued the language in a key provision was too broad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also voting no were Sens. Ted Budd, R-N.C., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rand Paul, R-Ky., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Todd Young, R-Ind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One senator missed the vote: Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill still needs approval from the Republican-controlled House, and it remains unclear whether the Senate-approved version will pass and go to Trump\u2019s desk to become law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Republican leaders and committee chairs at their annual retreat earlier this week that Trump wants the SAVE America Act to be a top priority, brushing aside a GOP fight over the housing bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson told members that Trump privately stressed to him the importance of the SAVE America Act and that the president said \u201cno one gives a (bleep) about housing,\u201d according to a lawmaker who was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A White House spokesman, Davis Ingle, denied that the exchange took place, saying that it\u2019s \u201cnot accurate whatsoever\u201d and that Trump \u201chas been laser-focused on making housing more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Trump \u201cwill sign bold new executive orders on housing in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conversation between Johnson and Trump, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, comes as Republicans have splintered over how to pass the SAVE America Act, a voter ID and proof-of-citizenship-to-vote bill, which Trump has labeled his \u201cNo. 1 priority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has even threatened not to sign any other legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, although the White House partially walked that back as it relates to a potential bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about Trump\u2019s alleged private comments on the Senate package, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., called it a \u201conce-in-a-generation piece of housing legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I told you that Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren walked into a bar, it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we got that through our committee. There\u2019s overwhelming support in the Senate. We\u2019re going to get this over the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The measure faces some industry pushback, in part due to a provision that requires major investors who build or own at least 350 single-family homes to sell after seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schatz said the package contains many good policies but slammed the seven-year provision as \u201ca very bizarre thing\u201d to apply more broadly than just to hedge funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s literally no reason for this,\u201d Schatz said on the floor. \u201cAnyone who wants to build housing and then provide it for rent is going to be forced to sell after seven years. … A lot of these folks are not actually in a position to sell after seven years. They will not have made their money back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is positively Soviet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Democratic aide on the Banking Committee disputed his argument, pointing to a Stanford University analysis that said the economic effects of the provision \u201care likely to be limited\u201d and that overall, \u201c[r]educed investor activity may modestly lower prices and increase homeownership in some markets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scott said the goal of the bill is to right a wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, the average age of a first-time homebuyer is 40. Forty years old before you ever experience the American dream,\u201d he said. \u201cThat age is too old.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n