WASHINGTON—The Senate has approved sweeping bipartisan housing legislation aimed at boosting housing supply and easing affordability pressures. Credit unions have expressed support for several amendments to be added to the bill, including those related to NCUA’s Central Liquidity Facility (CLF).
The measure, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, combines provisions from separate House and Senate housing bills into a single package intended to address the nation’s housing shortage and rising home prices.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, the legislation was developed by Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the committee’s ranking member, reflecting rare bipartisan cooperation on housing policy.
Supporters say the bill seeks to increase housing supply by reducing regulatory barriers, encouraging private investment and modernizing federal housing programs.
The Provisions
Among the provisions included in the package are changes designed to expand construction of new homes and improve the effectiveness of federal housing initiatives. The legislation also incorporates multiple previously introduced bipartisan housing proposals.
Another provision would restrict large institutional investors from buying certain newly built single-family homes, a move lawmakers say is intended to prevent corporate ownership from crowding out individual homebuyers.
The bill now moves to the House, where lawmakers must reconcile differences with previously passed housing legislation before a final measure can be sent to the president for signature.
CLF Amendment
America’s Credit Unions has sent a letter that urges senators to support an amendement to improve credit union access through NCUA’s Central Liquidity Facility (CLF).
The trade group said Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) offered the text of their bipartisan CLF Enhancement Act, giving more credit unions access to the CLF by reinstating expired provisions Congress previously granted during the pandemic.
“Including this amendment would reaffirm Congress’s commitment to ensuring that credit unions have easier access to the CLF and liquidity so they can effectively serve their members in uncertain times,” the letter reads.
In addition, America’s Credit Unions earlier wrote in support of a separate amendment that would include Community Development Financial Institutions Fund transparency legislation in the 21st Century Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act.
The amendment process is ongoing, with a final floor vote likely in these next two weeks, America’s Credit Unions said.
