NCSHA Washington Report | February 13, 2026

With this week’s jaw-dropping 390 – 9 vote for the Housing for the 21st Century Act, the House of Representatives has joined the Senate, which enthusiastically passed similar legislation — the ROAD to Housing Act — last fall as part of a defense policy bill, in advancing substantive housing policy for the first time in years and with the kind of overwhelming bipartisan support not seen in memory.

Among policymakers and advocates of all stripes, hopes are high that President Trump will have a major housing bill to sign sometime this spring if not before, with some saying it’s only a matter of when not if.

What could go possibly wrong?

Three things.

Differences prove to be irreconcilable. The House and Senate could fail to agree on a compromise version of their two bills. While there’s considerable overlap, and apparently an equal sense of urgency to act in the two chambers, the House rejected a number of ideas important to various Senators and added community bank regulatory reforms that have not been fully vetted in the Senate.

The key question: Can Congress do what Congress does, still, sometimes, and come to a deal that solid majorities of both parties can live with, say one in which the House takes some more of the housing proposals the Senate bill contains and the Senate agrees to include some House community bank provisions, with promises on both sides to take up items that get left out in near-future legislation?

President Trump says no. Neither the House’s nor the Senate’s bill includes legislation the president wants to rein in the ability of “Wall Street” to buy single-family homes, and that idea does not appear to have broad support in either party. While the White House Office of Management and Budget said, twice, that the administration was “pleased” by the House’s action overall, it also said the bill “lacks other presidential priorities, particularly a ban on the purchase of single-family homes by large institutional investors” and “seeks to continue working with Congress on a final bill.”

The key question: Could Congress express sufficient support for the thrust of the president’s proposal, which the White House has asserted it can achieve without Congress’ approval anyway, without expressly legislating on it and still secure his signature on a bill?

Politics and calendar collide. While the adage that Congress usually doesn’t get much done during election years overstates the facts, it’s undeniable the current one is off to an historically slow start in terms of passing legislation, in no small part due to intense polarization. The next round of federal funding bills, a debt limit extension, a potential reconciliation bill, and possible consideration of high-profile legislation on AI, crypto, and health care will kick up big fights and absorb lots of time on the election year-truncated calendar; the House is scheduled to be in session for only about 75 more days before the mid-terms.

The key question: Would Congress — and the president — really risk the political fallout from not addressing the issue — housing affordability — that poll after poll shows is an urgent priority for most Americans?

All of us with a stake in the answer being “no” should know what to do: Don’t let them.

Stockton Williams | Executive Director

In This Issue

• House Passes Housing for the 21st Century Act; Removes BABA Exemption for HOME
• Yakym, Moore Introduce Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act in House
• NCSHA Comments on HUD’s Proposal to Repeal Disparate Impact Regulations
• Federal Court Upholds Washington State Special Purpose Credit Program
• Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Looks at Homeownership, Role of Secondary Mortgage Market
• Financial Services Committee Holds Hearing on Housing Costs
• House Financial Services Oversight Subcommittee Discusses Public Housing Agency Oversight
• GAO Releases Report on Nonbank Mortgage Companies’ Share of GSE Loans, Servicing
• Terner Center Publishes Report on State Affordable Housing Program Administration
• March 4 Webinar on Leveraging Affordable Housing for Medicaid Recipients
• Looking Ahead

House Passes Housing for the 21st Century Act; Removes BABA Exemption for HOME
As referenced above, this week, the House of Representatives passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644) by a margin of 390 – 9, indicating extremely strong bipartisan support for the comprehensive bill. The legislation, which NCSHA has endorsed, is sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). NCSHA released this statement commending the House on the legislation’s passage.

Among other things, the bill would make needed improvements to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and raise the public welfare investment cap to facilitate more bank investments in Housing Credit developments and other public welfare initiatives. The final legislation does not provide an exemption for the HOME program from Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements as had been included in previous versions of the bill. NCSHA will continue to push for a BABA exemption for HOME and other HUD programs. For more details on H.R. 6644, see our blog.

The Senate passed its major consolidated housing legislation, the ROAD to Housing Act, late last year as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, though the housing provisions ultimately were stripped from the final version of that bill. The Senate could again consider the ROAD to Housing Act as a standalone bill later this month. Senate Banking and House Financial Services committee leaders next would need to negotiate a compromise between their bills, which could take considerable work. Though the two chambers’ bills have some crossover, many provisions are in one bill but not the other. NCSHA’s priorities in the Housing for the 21st Century Act and the ROAD to Housing Act are enumerated in this advocacy piece.

Yakym, Moore Introduce Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act in House
Representatives Rudy Yakym (R-IN) and Gwen Moore (D-WI) Monday evening introduced the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act (H.R. 7414). This legislation, which NCSHA has worked on closely with the representatives’ offices, would expand state HFA access to private activity bond volume cap and strengthen the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) and Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) programs. The bill contains many of NCSHA’s long-standing priorities for improving housing bonds, including permitting states to redesignate unused carryover private activity bond cap to affordable housing, increasing the MRB home improvement loan limit, allowing MRBs to be used for refinancing loans, providing HFAs additional flexibility in how they use housing bond authority, and simplifying how a borrower’s MCC benefit is calculated.

This is the first bipartisan version of the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act introduced in the House (Moore introduced a nearly identical bill on her own last Congress). Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced identical legislation last April (S. 1511). For more information, see NCSHA’s blog on and summary and section-by-section analysis of the bill.

NCSHA Comments on HUD’s Proposal to Repeal Disparate Impact Regulations
Today, NCSHA submitted comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in response to its proposed rule that would repeal HUD’s discriminatory effects regulations and leave to courts questions related to interpretations of disparate impact liability under the Fair Housing Act. NCSHA argued that the 2013 rule implementing the disparate impact regulations and establishing a burden-shifting framework for resolving disparate impact-related complaints is generally consistent with the outcome of the Supreme Court case that found disparate impact theory to be cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. However, in its comments, NCSHA urged HUD to clarify the criteria for establishing both a prima facie case in step one and a legally sufficient justification of policies in step two of the burden-shifting framework to align with the nuances of the majority opinion.

Federal Court Upholds Washington State Special Purpose Credit Program
On Monday, a federal judge refused to grant an injunction halting the Washington State Housing Finance Commission’s Covenant Homeownership Program, concluding the suit against the program was unlikely to succeed on the merits at trial. The Covenant program, which won an NCSHA Award for Program Excellence for empowering new home buyers in 2025, has served almost 1,200 households with its down payment assistance loan. The program serves first-time buyers whose families have been harmed by housing discrimination in Washington State before April 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was passed. The plaintiff has 30 days to appeal the preliminary injunction decision, and if it does not appeal, the lawsuit will continue in district court, where both sides will exchange evidence and make legal arguments.

Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Looks at Homeownership, Role of Secondary Mortgage Market
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing Wednesday to consider the secondary mortgage market and the role the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play in supporting mortgage lending. In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) outlined the critical role the secondary market plays in fostering liquidity in the mortgage market and said the hearing’s purpose was to help subcommittee members better understand how the secondary market works. In an effort to keep the hearing fully informational, the subcommittee decided not to “notice” any legislation, a decision with which Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) concurred. Cleaver contended the GSEs currently are performing well and helping to ensure working families can become homeowners.

Subcommittee members from both parties expressed the view that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play an indispensable role in the housing finance system and so any efforts to reform the GSEs and the secondary mortgage market should be undertaken carefully and with congressional involvement. Representative French Hill (R-AR), chair of the Financial Services Committee, used his question time to highlight concerns with the Trump Administration’s proposals to conduct a public sale of GSE shares without congressional approval, offer 50-year mortgages, and make GSE mortgages portable. Subcommittee Democrats criticized Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte’s efforts to lower the GSEs’ affordable housing goals and eliminate equitable housing finance requirements. Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) announced he will soon introduce legislation to remove the GSEs from conservatorship and set them up as utilities focused specifically on guaranteeing mortgage-backed securities.

Hearing witnesses included Michael Bright of the Structured Finance Association, Robert Broeksmit of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Dr. Norbert Michel of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, and Dr. Sharon Cornelissen of the Consumer Federation of America.

Financial Services Committee Holds Hearing on Housing Costs
The House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday held a hearing to explore how federal policies impact housing costs and access to credit. Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR) opened the hearing by opining that Biden Administration policies had driven up inflation, increasing housing and borrowing costs for average Americans. Hill argued the economy had begun to turn around under President Trump, but affordability challenges remain. He touted the Housing for the 21st Century Act as a good start towards reining in costs. Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) also expressed support for the Housing for the 21st Century Act, on which she worked with Hill, but argued increasing housing costs were a result of failed Trump Administration policies.

During the hearing, members from both parties discussed efforts to boost supply, the impact of Trump’s tariffs and immigration enforcement on housing costs, the role of institutional investor single-family home purchases, zoning, and interest rates. The bulk of the discussion focused on the larger macroeconomic picture, with members from both parties accusing the other of stifling economic growth. Witnesses included Brian Brooks of Meridian Capital Group, Kevin O’Leary of O’Leary Ventures, Stephen Moore of Unleash Prosperity, and Dr. Darrick Hamilton of the New School and AFL-CIO.

House Financial Services Oversight Subcommittee Discusses Public Housing Agency Oversight
On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing to examine how HUD funds and oversees public housing agencies (PHAs). PHAs are local agencies established by state governments to implement and manage HUD public housing programs. Subcommittee Chair Dan Meuser (R-PA) began the hearing by saying too many PHAs have experienced oversight failures, corruption, and financial mismanagement, citing examples throughout the country. This, Meuser continued, has led the Trump Administration and the Financial Services Committee to make oversight and regulatory enforcement of PHAs a priority. Ranking Member Al Green (D-TX) agreed with Meuser about the need for strong oversight but suggested Congress makes the problem worse by not adequately providing funding for public housing and Section 8 rental assistance.

On Monday, Meuser, Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR), and Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood (R-NE) sent letters to 32 PHAs HUD has identified as “troubled” inquiring about living conditions at their properties.

GAO Releases Report on Nonbank Mortgage Companies’ Share of GSE Loans, Servicing
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report Tuesday finding that nonbank mortgage companies now originate and service most loans in securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, with their market share growing from 27 percent in 2014 to 66 percent in 2024. GAO recommends the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) develop procedures to assess the reliability of nonbank data it uses for monitoring, FHFA and Ginnie Mae improve their processes for assessing the risks of nonbank use of short-term credit lines, and Ginnie Mae consider additional nonbank stress scenarios. The report states FHFA and Ginnie Mae agreed with GAO’s recommendations.

Terner Center Publishes Report on State Affordable Housing Program Administration
The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley on Tuesday published The Cost of Fragmentation: A Comparison of State Affordable Housing Finance Governance Systems, a report analyzing how states structure the administration of their affordable housing programs. The report reviews all 50 states and dives deeper into case studies for six — Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon — examining which entities within the state administer key affordable housing programs and how each governance model impacts housing production outcomes such as development costs, application and review processes, and construction timelines.

The affordable housing programs the report considers in its analysis are the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, HOME Investment Partnerships, National Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grant, and tax-exempt private activity bond issuance. The Terner Center finds that states, on average, have 2.5 entities administering the five programs listed above and concludes that states should consider consolidating the administration of their housing programs “under one roof” to encourage “lower costs, faster execution, and greater stakeholder confidence.”

March 4 Webinar on Leveraging Affordable Housing for Medicaid Recipients
Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips LLP is sponsoring a March 4 webinar focused on the recently enacted increases in Housing Credit authority and how HFAs can work with state Medicaid agencies to leverage this opportunity to secure affordable housing units for Medicaid recipients. The webinar will expand on ideas covered in recent articles in Health Affairs and The 80 Million blog and feature case studies of policies in North Carolina and New Mexico that include unit set-asides for Medicaid recipients. Registration is available here.

Looking Ahead

Legislative and Regulatory Activities

• February 13 | Comments Due | HUD Proposed Rule Repealing Its Discriminatory Effects Standard

NCSHA, State HFA, and Industry Events

• March 9 – 11 | NAHRO Washington Conference | Washington, DC
  Jennifer Schwartz will speak at this event.
• March 18 | New Hampshire Housing Homeownership Conference 2026 | Concord, NH
• Stockton Williams is speaking at this event
• March 18 | National Housing Supply Summit | Washington, DC, and Virtual
• March 18 – 19 | Yardi Forum: Affordable Housing and PHA | Boston, MA
  Jennifer Schwartz will speak at this event.
• March 20 | Early-Bird Registration Ends | NCSHA’s 2026 Legislative Conference | Washington, DC
• April 21 – 23 | NCSHA’s 2026 Legislative Conference | Washington, DC
• April 21 – 23 | Affordable Housing Investors Council Spring Meeting | Scottsdale, AZ
  Jim Tassos will speak at this event.