By Libby O’Neill, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs unanimously passed the bipartisan “Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act” out of committee on Tuesday, July 29. This is the first bipartisan housing bill markup in over a decade. NLIHC has endorsed the bill.
NLIHC has published an analysis of the bill, including information on provisions we support and those we have concerns about.
The “ROAD to Housing Act” includes 40 provisions covering financial literacy, housing supply, manufactured housing, homeownership, program reform, veterans’ housing, and oversight and coordination of housing programs and agencies. It includes several provisions that NLIHC has endorsed and advocated for:
- The “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” provision contains critical reforms proposed by NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) members to help ensure the federal government’s long-term disaster recovery program, HUD’s Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, better serves disaster survivors with the lowest incomes.
- The “Rural Service Reform Act” provision would help preserve affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for low-income people and families living in rural areas, cut red tape, and encourage public-private partnerships to increase investment in the country’s rural housing supply.
- The “Reducing Homeless Through Program Reform Act” provision includes several reforms to ease administrative burdens, streamline inspection and income verification processes to get people into homes more quickly, and encourage collaboration between the various agencies, systems, and organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness.
- The “ROAD to Housing Act” includes two provisions from the “Choice in Affordable Housing Act” related to streamlining inspections for the HCV program.
“ROAD” also includes provisions to expand the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and Moving to Work (MTW) programs.
- While the RAD program allows access to much-needed financing to preserve properties, NLIHC has opposed RAD expansion and raised concerns about the enforcement of tenant protections at properties that have converted through RAD. HUD needs to actively monitor and enforce existing tenants’ rights and protections.
- NLIHC has long opposed the Moving to Work Demonstration and continues to oppose any further expansion until the 100-Expansion MTW Public Housing Agency (PHA) program has been fully evaluated. As a “demonstration,” the original 39 MTW PHAs were never subject to rigorous evaluation, and it is too soon to evaluate the more recent 100 Expansion MTW PHAs. MTW allows HUD to approve “waivers” of statutory and regulatory provisions, allowing policies and practices harmful to residents, such as work requirements, time limits, and rent payments far above 30% of a household’s adjusted income.
Read the Senate Banking Committee’s press release on stakeholder support here.
Read NLIHC’s analysis here.
Read the draft bill text here.