In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, on June 23 Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act—only to have President Trump scrap the signing of it into law an hour before he was set to do so the following day. 

Introduced by four key congressional leaders across the housing committees, the ROAD bill has been touted as the most significant overhaul of U.S. housing policy since 1990, combining elements from over 60 individual pieces of legislation, and representing a hard-fought bipartisan compromise intended to address the severe national shortage of affordable homes. The massive legislative package cleared the U.S. Senate on June 22 by an 85–5 vote, and the U.S. House of Representatives the next day in a 358–32 landslide, sending it to the president’s desk. 

What’s in It? 

In the Senate, the original ROAD to Housing Act was backed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in July 2025, while House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) advanced the parallel Housing for the 21st Century Act in the House.

After a year of legislative maneuvering, the lawmakers successfully merged their bills into the final, unified package. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the bill addresses the affordability crisis through two main avenues: by significantly expanding housing inventory, and by rebalancing the market to be fairer to individual buyers. It aims to achieve those objectives by removing regulatory hurdles, expanding housing stock, and putting a check on private equity’s ability to buy up homes in bulk. 

Specifically, the bill streamlines the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process by expanding ‘categorical exclusions’ to help speed up construction timelines. It also creates a $200 million annual competitive grant program to encourage local governments to modernize outdated zoning laws and reduce permitting fees. Additionally, by broadening definitions and expanding Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan limits, the bill incentivizes the production of affordable, factory-built housing. It also authorizes a pilot program to fund the conversion of vacant commercial properties into mixed-income residential units. According to the Washington Post, the legislation also introduces constraints on the number of homes that large institutional investors (those owning 350+ properties) can purchase, reducing the odds of deep-pocketed Wall Street private equity firms outbidding regular families trying to buy a primary residence. 

Objections from the Dissenters

While the bill enjoyed overwhelming support, the 5 senators and 32 representatives who voted against it raised objections from both sides of the political aisle. Some objected to the inclusion of certain progressive priorities embedded from the House side, arguing that parts of the Act would lead to heavy-handed federal interference in local zoning authority. Still others felt the restrictions on institutional investors didn’t go far enough; the final bill carved out explicit exceptions allowing corporations to purchase properties under “renovate-to-rent” programs (provided they sell to individuals after seven years) and completely exempted “build-to-rent” developments—concessions some progressives argued weakened tenant protections.

While time will tell how much the Act impacts average mortgage payments and monthly rents, by uniting progressives focused on equitable housing with conservatives intent on cutting regulatory red tape, market watchers say the law establishes the firmest supply-side intervention in a generation—that is, until President Trump abruptly announced via a Truth Social post on June 24 that he would not sign the bill unless Congress passes voting restriction measures under the SAVE America Act.

That said, President Trump’s decision to scrap the signing ceremony does not automatically kill the ROAD Act; because both chambers already passed the bill with veto-proof majorities, the package will automatically become law after 10 days if Trump takes no action and leaves it on his desk while Congress remains in session. If the president issues an official veto, lawmakers possess the necessary bipartisan coalition to swiftly override it, setting up a major legislative showdown ahead of the already-tense midterm elections.