Legislative State-of-Play
Congress Overwhelmingly Passes 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
In late June, Congress overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act! On June 22, the Senate passed this major housing legislation by a significant 85-5 vote, followed by the House passage with a similarly powerful 358-32 vote the next day. This is arguably the most significant standalone, non-tax housing legislation Congress has passed in a generation. The President is yet to sign the bill, instead calling on Congress to first advance unrelated elections legislation.
The President has until July 10 to either sign 21st Century ROAD or veto it. If he does neither, the legislation will automatically become law. We expect this important legislation to ultimately be enacted. The President has supported many versions of the legislation throughout negotiations, and the Speaker of the House has publicly stated he does not expect a veto from the White House.
ACTION’s top priority in the legislation is increasing the Public Welfare Investment (PWI) cap from 15 percent of banks’ capital and surplus to 20 percent, and we are pleased it is included in the final version of the legislation. This will allow banks that are up against the cap to increase their investments in the Housing Credit.
The passed bill also includes important provisions to strengthen HUD and USDA programs often used in conjunction with the Housing Credit. Highlights include significant reforms to the HOME program, which helps finance around 15 to 20 percent of Housing Credit units annually, and reforms to the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service, which will better enable the preservation of affordable homes and rental assistance for residents in rural communities.
The final 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act also includes the Administration’s priority to prevent large institutional investors from purchasing single family homes, but does not include a provision from some previous iterations that would have required institutional investors of so-called “build-to-rent” and “renovate-to-rent” properties to sell such properties after seven years. We appreciate efforts from ACTION Campaign members to ensure the final text of this provision does not negatively impact single-family rental housing financed with the Housing Credit.
ACTION is deeply grateful to the champions in Congress who have worked tirelessly to advance this legislation, especially Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR-02) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA-43); House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairman Mike Flood (R-NE-01) and Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05); and all the Congressional staff who worked tirelessly to draft, negotiate, and pass the legislation. ACTION also thanks all the advocates across the country – this couldn’t have happened without you.
Outlook for Tax Legislation
In recent weeks, some key House Republicans have publicly expressed increasing optimism about a third budget reconciliation package — a process the majority party can use to pass legislation without support from the minority party. Other Republicans in both chambers have publicly or privately expressed reservations or skepticism about a reconciliation bill’s chances, according to recent reporting. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) believes that a third reconciliation bill is unlikely to pass Congress. Reconciliation’s procedural challenges, other priorities vying for valuable floor time, and a very limited calendar all make doing so difficult, but not impossible.
Congress could still consider bipartisan tax legislation later this year. While Congress still faces the same timing constraints, a bipartisan tax package does not have the same procedural challenges that a reconciliation bill would have. ACTION remains in regular contact with our congressional champions regarding opportunities to advance provisions from the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA).
Housing Credit Expansion Praised in Ways & Means Hearing
During a June 4 House Ways and Means Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, AHCIA lead sponsor Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL-16) lauded last year’s historic expansion of the Housing Credit. Secretary Bessent acknowledged that the increase in resources should result in greater predictability for developers and investors, which will lead to more affordable homes. Secretary Bessent also encouraged Congress to pass housing authorization legislation in order to further enhance the expansion of the Housing Credit.
Leader Thune References Housing Credit Expansion
During remarks on the Senate floor ahead of the June 18 vote on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, Majority Leader Thune referenced last year’s historic expansion of the Housing Credit.
Other Housing Credit Legislation Introduced in Congress
On June 11, Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Val Hoyle (both D-OR) reintroduced the Decent, Affordable, and Safe Housing for All Act, or DASH Act (S. 4773 / H.R. 9281), a massive housing package with several Housing Credit provisions. It includes some provisions from within the AHCIA, as well as a section that would create a Workforce Housing Tax Credit, as covered in last month’s newsletter. ACTION supports the Housing Credit provisions, but has no position on the legislation, given the broader scope of the bill.
Also on June 11, Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda (both D-HI), along with Del. James Moylan (R-GU), introduced the Transit Oriented Development Act (H.R. 9267), which would create a basis boost for certain properties located near public transit. Specifically, the bill would create a 50 percent basis boost for properties within a half mile of defined public transportation stations if they are in the contiguous United States, and a 55 percent basis boost if those properties are located in Alaska, Hawaii, or the Territories. However, Housing Credit properties located in Difficult Development Areas or Qualified Census Tracts would not be eligible for this basis boost. ACTION has no position on this bill.
June AHCIA Cosponsorship Update
The push to build cosponsorship of the AHCIA continues, and we need your help to leverage the momentum from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to add more members of Congress to the bill. In particular, ACTION is targeting Republicans, as both the House and Senate versions of AHCIA have Democrats waiting to be added, as we seek to maintain party parity. Strong cosponsorship is important should there be additional opportunities to advance a tax package in the remainder of this Congress and to ensure a strong foundation of support for the next Congress.
The AHCIA currently has 39 percent of Congress (across both the House and Senate) cosponsoring, with support evenly divided by Republicans and Democrats. Last Congress, we had nearly 60 percent of Congress signing on as cosponsors.
Administration Updates
Housing Stakeholders Again Weigh in on Basel III Endgame
On June 18, around two dozen ACTION Campaign member organizations, including co-chairs Enterprise and NCSHA, submitted comment letters regarding the proposed set of banking regulations known as Basel III. As covered in the April 2026 newsletter, the three primary federal banking regulators published this long-awaited proposed bank regulation in March, after regulators scrapped a previous version of this proposal in 2025.
The letters urge the banking regulators to lower the risk weighting for the Housing Credit, which is currently at 100 percent, down to 20 percent (ideally), or at most a maximum of 50 percent. Lowering the Housing Credit’s risk weighting would more accurately reflect the risks of investing in the Housing Credit and should therefore incentivize greater investment in affordable housing.
FHFA Proposes Revisions to Duty-to-Serve Regulations
On June 24, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published a proposed revision to the Duty-to-Serve (DTS) regulations. Under the current DTS regulations, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (together, the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, or GSEs) are restricted to only making Housing Credit investments in rural areas. One of the proposed changes would broaden that current restriction from rural areas to all underserved markets, and with a focus on preservation. Stakeholders can submit public comments to FHFA by July 24.
ACTION Membership
In June, the ACTION Campaign welcomed three new members to the coalition!
Please join us in welcoming the following new members:
- Simple Asset Management, Florida
- Weaver Investment Company, North Carolina
- Kingdom 1st Fitness & Wellness, Texas
Help ACTION continue to grow our membership and advocacy strength by encouraging your networks to support affordable housing and the Housing Credit by joining the coalition. Membership is free.
Housing Credit Research
- Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies published the 2026 edition of its flagship annual report, The State of the Nation’s Housing. Among other things, it finds that last year’s historic expansion of the Housing Credit should expand the supply of affordable housing. However, it notes that other appropriated affordable housing programs, including vouchers, are not keeping pace with need, and that rental assistance is often critical to ensuring affordability for extremely low-income households, including those who live in Housing Credit properties. It also finds that the number of cost-burdened renter households – those paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent – reached yet another high: in 2024, 22.7 million, or 49 percent, of all renter households. The report notes that this number is up 2.3 million since 2019. Further, 12.1 million renter households, or 26 percent, are severely cost-burdened, meaning they spend over half their income on rent. The report also reveals that the number of rental units renting for less than $1,000 a month (after adjusting for inflation) dropped by more than 30 percent from 2014 to 2024, a reduction of over 7 million units. The report explains that the Housing Credit has been an essential resource for financing much-needed affordable housing.
- On June 23, the National Multifamily Housing Council, a member of ACTION’s Steering Committee, published its Housing Affordability Toolkit. Among other things, it finds that the Housing Credit has financed around eight percent of the nation’s total current rental housing supply, but notes that over 22 million renter households are cost-burdened. One of the report’s recommendations to help remedy this problem is to significantly expand and strengthen the Housing Credit for both new construction and for preservation, along with other programs that are used in conjunction with the Housing Credit.
Housing Credit in the News
- A June 2 article in the Ripon Advance covers the introduction of the Affordable Housing Credit Carryback Act.
- On June 23, the Bipartisan Policy Center held its fifth annual housing supply summit; during the all-day event, several speakers and panelists spoke to the importance of the Housing Credit for financing affordable housing and touted last year’s historic expansion of the Credit.
