Washington, D.C. – Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) released the following statement following passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in the U.S. Senate today:
“Today, the U.S. Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and I was proud to vote yes. Pennsylvania is short 100,000 homes and more than half our housing stock is over 50 years old. Home prices across our Commonwealth have risen more than 75 percent since 2020, putting homeownership out of reach for many Pennsylvanians. This is the first comprehensive, bipartisan housing bill in decades. It increases supply, cuts regulatory red tape, lowers costs, and reopens pathways to homeownership. I fought to include specific provisions for Pennsylvania working families, veterans, and first-time homebuyers and I am glad they made it in. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is an important step toward restoring affordable pathways to homeownership for families in Pennsylvania and across the country.”
BACKGROUND
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act includes several measures that Senator McCormick has introduced or cosponsored, including:
- The HUD-USDA-VA Interagency Coordination Act, which requires HUD, USDA, and the VA to establish a data sharing agreement on housing research and market data and to submit a joint report to Congress identifying opportunities for increased collaboration and housing barriers to address.
- The Housing Affordability Act, which requires the FHA Commissioner to study multifamily loan limits and grants HUD rulemaking authority to adjust those limits to better match housing market costs.
- The Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act that permanently excludes veterans’ disability compensation from income calculations under the HUD-VASH program and for housing on Department property to help homeless veterans access housing.
- The Whole-Home Repairs Act, which establishes a five-year pilot program at HUD to offer grants and forgivable loans to low and moderate-income homeowners and qualifying small landlords to holistically address home repair needs and health hazards. This will stabilize aging housing stock, preserve affordable units, and support neighborhood revitalization without creating new long-term federal entitlements.
- The Community Investment and Prosperity Act to increase the Public Welfare Investment cap for the nationally chartered banks from 15 to 20 percent, which will enhance banks’ capacity to make investments in affordable housing.
- The addition of Section 206, Affordable Housing Construction as an Eligible Activity, a provision to allow Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program funding administered by HUD to be used for the construction of new affordability housing.
Encouraging passage of this important legislation, Senator McCormick recently delivered remarks on the Senate floor and co-authored an opinion editorial with Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) in The Philadelphia Inquirer.