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NCSHA Washington Report | August 1, 2025

Published on August 1, 2025

NCSHA Washington Report - 2025

Bipartisan momentum on housing affordability building for several years in the U.S. Senate has resulted in a remarkably productive summer in a legislative body better known recently for its dysfunction on other matters.

The expansion of the Housing Credit program, which should result in hundreds of thousands of new affordable apartments over the next several years, included on a temporary basis in the House’s version of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” was made permanent, and therefore far more impactful, in the final version of the law as a result of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo’s (R-ID) efforts to ensure that a broadly shared priority among members of the committee was included to the fullest.

Prospects for stable funding for key HUD programs in the next federal fiscal year are looking more promising in light of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s approval by a 27–1 vote of an appropriations bill for the department that decisively rejects the scorched-earth proposal put forward by the White House.

Not to be outdone, the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday unanimously passed a major housing policy bill that was developed through months of negotiations between the committee’s chair, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and its top Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and encompasses legislative ideas put forward by bipartisan groups of committee members on issues ranging from mortgage lending and home repair to regulatory reform and local land use policies.

The HUD funding and housing policy bills still have to clear the full Senate. And the House, where bipartisanship on housing has been harder to come by, beyond support for the Housing Credit, will have its say before any final legislation would be ready for a presidential signature.

The Senate shouldn’t slow down though. Republicans and Democrats have drafted bills together to improve Mortgage Revenue Bonds and enact a Neighborhood Homes Tax Credit, both of which would help lower-income people become homeowners. Those measures, along with additional Housing Credit enhancements, could be included in a “tax extenders” bill later this year.

Little of substance comes easily in the Senate, which still operates “under rules that encourage polite anarchy and embolden people who find majority rule a dubious proposition at best,” as former Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-TN) put it.

Lately, Senate Democrats, under pressure from their voters to take on the Trump Administration more aggressively, have turned “confirmation proceedings for relatively noncontroversial executive branch nominees into pitched partisan battles.” And Senators in both parties are dialing up their rhetoric about a possible shutdown of some federal agencies this fall if common ground on funding can’t be found.

Nevertheless, the fact that housing is becoming a bipartisan priority in the Senate should be both a cause for optimism and a call to additional action. Senator Scott said it well after the Banking Committee vote:

Many people around the country, frustrated with the way we do American politics, wonder, is there any issue that brings this nation together? And I’m here to say hallelujah! We have found one. It is housing.

Stockton-Williams-Washington-ReportStockton Williams | Executive Director

In This Issue

NCSHA Welcomes New Members
NCSHA has welcomed these organizations as Affiliate members since May: Atlantic Real Estate Solutions; Backshop/CMBS.com; Capital Area Finance Authority; Davio Consulting, LLC; National Field Representatives; and OSaaS LLC. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact membership@ncsha.org.

Senate Appropriations Committee Passes FY26 HUD Funding Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill last Thursday by a broadly bipartisan vote of 27–1. Of note, the Senate Appropriations Committee would restore FY25-level funding of $1.25 billion in FY26 for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program; House appropriators had earlier proposed eliminating regular annual funding for HOME in FY26. Read more about funding for other important HUD programs in NCSHA’s blog.

Senate Banking Committee Passes Comprehensive, Bipartisan Affordable Housing Bill
The Senate Banking Committee Tuesday morning unanimously passed a wide-ranging affordable housing package containing dozens of proposals introduced by Senators from both parties. The bill — titled “Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025,” or “ROAD to Housing Act” — is the first bipartisan housing legislation to advance through the Banking Committee in more than a decade, and the most substantial as well. It is the product of months of discussions between Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The legislation includes several bills supported by NCSHA, including the HOME Investment Partnerships Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act. NCSHA released a statement Tuesday thanking Scott, Warren, and all the committee members “for their bipartisan leadership in advancing ways to increase the supply of affordable housing.”

The ROAD to Housing Act will now be referred to the full Senate for consideration. It has not yet been determined when and if it will be brought to the floor for consideration. For more information on the bill, see NCSHA’s detailed summary and blog.

Trump Issues Executive Order on Homelessness
On July 24, the Trump Administration issued an executive order titled Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets that purportedly seeks to reduce homelessness and prevent crime by, among other initiatives, restoring the practice of civil commitment for individuals with mental illness, prioritizing grants for jurisdictions that enforce prohibitions on urban camping and loitering, directing the Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to increase accountability in their homelessness assistance and transitional living programs, ending federal support for “Housing First” policies, and allowing or requiring entities that administer federal funding for homelessness assistance to collect health-related information from persons receiving assistance and to share that health data with law enforcement authorities.

Senate Banking Committee Approves HUD Nominations
Last week, the Senate Banking Committee voted to favorably report the nominations of Ben DeMarzo to serve as U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs and Craig Trainor as HUD assistant secretary for fair housing. Trainor was approved by a straight party-line vote, with all Republicans voting in support and all Democrats opposed. Similarly, DeMarzo received support from all Republicans and was opposed by each Democrat except for Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) expressed concern that Trainor would not adequately enforce fair housing rules. With regard to DeMarzo, Warren said she would not vote to confirm an assistant secretary for congressional affairs until the Trump Administration is more responsive to Congress. DeMarzo and Trainor’s nominations will now be sent to the full Senate for consideration.

HUD Requests Feedback on Buy Now, Pay Later Implications
HUD has requested comments from the public to better understand the impact Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans can have on mortgage lending through a request for information (RFI) published earlier this summer. Specifically, HUD is seeking input on how BNPL obligations may affect lenders’ ability to accurately assess risk when lending to borrowers utilizing BNPL products. HUD’s RFI includes a list of 22 questions for feedback. The comment period ends on August 25. Please send any feedback you may have to inform NCSHA’s comments to Rosemarie Sabatino and Glenn Gallo by August 18.

FHFA Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Eliminating the Fair Lending, Fair Housing, Equitable Finance Plans Regulation
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) this week published a notice requesting comments on their proposed rule to repeal the Fair Lending, Fair Housing, and Equitable Housing Finance Plans regulation. The regulation was finalized in May 2024, going into effect on July 15, 2024. FHFA is proposing to eliminate the regulation in accordance with Executive Order 14219 (Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Deregulatory Initiative) and to improve “financial responsibility in the expenditure of funds.” FHFA Director Bill Pulte waived the requirement for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to comply with the regulation’s Equitable Housing Finance Plan provisions on March 25. FHFA is requesting comments by September 26.  Please send any feedback to Greg Zagorski by September 19.

Financial Regulators Request Input on Simplification of CRA, Other Regulations
Federal banking regulators last Friday published a solicitation seeking input on how they could simplify and update regulations pertaining to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The solicitation, jointly issued by the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, was published in part to meet the agencies’ obligations under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA). EGRPRA requires the agencies to regularly review their regulations to look for redundancy, areas of needed clarification, and possible opportunities to streamline. This review is focused on regulations pertaining to CRA, as well as bank capital standards and bank operations.

The regulators will accept comments until October 23. NCSHA will submit comments on behalf of HFAs and their partners. Please email to Greg Zagorski by October 15 any input you’d like NCSHA to consider when drafting our letter.

NCSHA in the News
Affordable Housing Finance, 7.29.25, One Big Beautiful Bill: Examining the Bond Financing Change
CityBiz, 7.29.25, Virginia Housing CEO Tammy Neale Selected for Virginia Business Women in Leadership Award

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