“ROAD to Housing Act” Provisions Not Included in Final National Defense Authorization Act Text

By Libby O’Neill, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst 

The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) released the text of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on December 7. While the NDAA had been considered a potential vehicle for enacting provisions of the bipartisan “ROAD to Housing Act” (ROAD; S. 2651), the NDAA text does not include provisions from “ROAD.”  In an announcement, HFSC Chair French Hill (R-AR) acknowledged the exclusion of the housing provisions and stated that the Committee will continue to work on advancing housing solutions. 

NLIHC has been tracking the progress of “ROAD” and advocating for its inclusion in the NDAA.  

The bill was introduced with bipartisan support by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), passed unanimously out of the committee on July 29, and passed the full Senate as an amendment to the Senate’s NDAA on October 9 (S.Amdt.3901, see Memo 10/14). The original version of NDAA passed by the House in September did not include the “ROAD” amendment, and over the past month, the two chambers have been in conference to reconcile the differences between their NDAA bills, including amendments.  

Chair Hill stated his opposition to including “ROAD” in the final NDAA, noting he did not feel the majority of House Republicans support the bill. Reporting on December 3 speculated the Chairman may have been open to including some of ROAD’s provisions in the final NDAA after the White House indicated their support for ROAD’s inclusion. HFSC Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) also expressed support for “ROAD” during a December 3 committee hearing. Despite weeks of negotiating and strong bipartisan support, the final text of the NDAA did not include any provisions from the “ROAD to Housing Act.” However, this does not mean the bill does not have a path forward; Chair Hill stated that the HFSC will work with their Senate colleagues in the new year on housing legislation.  

NLIHC endorsed “ROAD” for including several policies NLIHC supports, including the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” (RDRA), a major priority for NLIHC and our Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC). “ROAD” also includes provisions from the “Rural Housing Service Reform Act,” the “Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reforms Act,” and the “Choice in Affordable Housing Act.” NLIHC will continue working with members of the HFSC and Senate Banking Committees to maintain our priorities in ROAD and see the bill enacted into law.  

Read NLIHC’s two-page explainer on ROAD here.  

Read the complete bill analysis here.  

Sign the DHRC’s organizational support letter for the RDRA here.