Chairman Hill, Ranking Member Waters Unveil Updated 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
House Financial Services Leaders Unveil Bipartisan Amendment to 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) joined forces on May 19, 2026, to release updated legislative text for a resolution advancing H.R. 6644, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — a wide-ranging housing reform package that would amend the version already passed by the Senate.
What the Amended Bill Would Do
The House amendment was developed in response to concerns raised by both members and private-sector stakeholders. According to the committee, the revised text takes a more balanced and workable approach than the Senate-passed version, restoring community banking provisions that had been stripped out while retaining core measures aimed at cutting regulatory red tape, boosting housing construction, improving affordability, and modernizing federal housing programs.
Among the bill’s stated priorities is a provision targeting institutional investors — a response to President Trump’s call to prevent large corporate buyers from outcompeting individual Americans in the home purchase market. The measure is designed to level the playing field for families seeking to achieve homeownership rather than compete against well-capitalized investment entities in an already tight market.
Hill: Families Come First
Chairman Hill emphasized the months of bipartisan work and stakeholder engagement behind the updated measure, framing it as legislation built around the needs of working Americans.
“This bill prioritizes American families by expanding homeownership, enhancing affordability, reducing burdensome regulations that drive up costs, and increasing housing supply nationwide.”
Hill also pointed to the institutional investor provision as a direct response to presidential priorities, and said he remains committed to producing a bill that can ultimately earn the President’s signature. The legislative path forward requires reconciling the House amendment with the Senate-passed version, meaning further bicameral negotiation lies ahead.
Waters Calls on Senate to Act
Ranking Member Waters, speaking from the Democratic side of the aisle, described the housing situation facing American families in stark terms — citing rising rents, reduced homeownership accessibility, and increasing homelessness — and credited the bipartisan committee process for advancing comprehensive legislation.
“The House has proven that bipartisan action is possible. Now it is time for the Senate to meet the urgency of this moment.”
Waters highlighted specific components she views as critical, including provisions designed to remove unnecessary barriers slowing the development of affordable housing options — notably modular home construction — as well as strengthened protections for renters. Her remarks placed significant pressure on the Senate to engage in good-faith negotiations and match the pace of the House.
Bipartisan Momentum on a Difficult Policy Challenge
Housing affordability has become one of the rare policy areas where members across the aisle have found common ground in recent years, driven by worsening conditions in both rental and for-sale markets across the country. The fact that a Republican committee chairman and a senior House Democrat are jointly unveiling legislation signals genuine institutional cooperation rather than messaging-only activity.
The bill addresses several levers simultaneously: regulatory streamlining to reduce development costs and delays, community banking provisions to ensure local lenders can participate in housing finance, construction incentives to expand supply, and program modernization to update federal housing policy for current market realities. The inclusion of limits on institutional homebuying reflects a growing concern among lawmakers of both parties that corporate acquisition of single-family homes has contributed to affordability pressures for first-time buyers.
With the House now preparing to bring the amended bill to the floor, attention shifts to whether the Senate will take up the revised version or push for further changes. Both Hill and Waters framed the moment as one requiring Senate action, with Waters in particular urging the upper chamber not to let the legislation stall after the House demonstrated that broad cooperation is achievable.
Full bill text, a one-page summary, and a section-by-section breakdown are available through the House Committee on Financial Services.
Source: House Committee on Financial Services. Retrieved from financialservices.house.gov.