According to four individuals with direct knowledge of the planning, House leadership is targeting the week of February 9 for a vote on a bipartisan housing package, a new Politico report revealed.
According to three individuals granted anonymity for discussions of internal deliberations, senior lawmakers have been contemplating the possibility of considering the broadly backed bill under suspension of House rules, which would speed up its legislative passage.
Nonetheless, the plans for the bill are not set in stone and may change as the House addresses a partial government shutdown.
Addressing Growing Housing Affordability Issues
The Housing in the 21st Century Act, which made significant progress through the House Financial Services Committee in December, is part of Congress’s effort to enact legislation that could tackle a worsening housing affordability crisis.
The legislation encompasses 25 provisions designed to boost the housing supply, update local development and rural housing initiatives, broaden manufactured and affordable housing options, safeguard borrowers and individuals using federal housing programs, and improve oversight of housing providers.
(R-Ark.)
On Friday, December 30th, French Hill (R-Ark.), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, stated on Bloomberg Radio that he is advocating for an expedited floor vote on the Housing for the 21st Century Act.
“I hope that that bill can come to the House floor in just a few days. I really am pushing for that, I think it’s the right decision,” Hill said.
The Senate’s housing bill, known as the ROAD to Housing Act, was approved in the upper chamber as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, but it may be subjected to a separate floor vote. If the House can approve its own version by a significant margin before the Senate does, it may gain extra negotiating power with the upper chamber regarding a final bill.
According to Hill and other House Republicans, the Senate bill—one that was backed by a large bipartisan majority in the Senate Banking Committee—contains various provisions that would not be acceptable to House GOP members.
The post Looming Housing Bill Vote Would Tackle Housing Affordability Crisis first appeared on The MortgagePoint.
