ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, of Georgia, advanced the ROAD to Housing Act on Tuesday, marking a significant step in addressing the nation’s housing crisis.
The bipartisan legislation aims to increase housing supply, improve access to affordable housing, and enhance the efficiency of federal housing programs, according to the senator’s office.
Warnock’s office said the ROAD to Housing Act is the most transformative housing legislation to advance in the U.S. Senate in nearly 20 years.
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The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Banking Committee with a vote of 24-0 and will now proceed to the full Senate floor for approval or rejection.
“I hear from Georgians across the state who have been clamoring for action from Washington on the affordable housing crisis,” Warnock said in a statement. “This legislation is proof that when we center the people instead of the politics, we can get good policy done.”
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The senator’s office said the legislation includes several key provisions aimed at addressing various aspects of the housing crisis.
Warnock’s Appraisal Modernization Act, included in the package, seeks to empower homeowners with more data and tools to combat appraisal bias.
It will do so, in part, by requiring the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the feasibility of creating a public appraisal database and the Banking Committee to hold a hearing on the final report.
According to Warnock’s office, the bill also introduces the Local Government Housing Innovation Fund, which would authorize $1 billion over five years to support local governments in increasing housing supply, if the legislation is passed in both chambers of U.S. Congress and signed into law.
Incentives for zoning reform are also part of the legislation, rewarding communities that pursue pro-housing policies. This includes provisions to remove what Warnock’s office called the “Not-In-My-Backyard” phenomena that it said is often cited for creating the current housing crisis
The bill addresses rural housing needs through updates to the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service, preserving properties for low-income residents, the lawmaker’s staff said.
Veterans will benefit from the VA Home Loan Awareness Act, ensuring they are informed about their home loan benefits.
The Whole Home Repairs Act allocates $30 million for grants and loans to help homeowners repair and weatherize their properties.
The legislation also aims to modernize federal guidelines to support affordable housing construction and streamline housing construction processes.
If approved by the full Senate, and unchanged by the U.S. House of Representatives, the bill’s provisions could provide a new, comprehensive approach to increasing housing supply and affordability in the United States.
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