Washington, D.C. – Today, Inclusive Abundance Action President Derek Kaufman released the following statement on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act becoming law:
“For decades, the federal government watched housing costs climb out of reach for millions of families and did too little about it. That ends today with the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act becoming law. In a Congress where so little has gotten done, two parties and two chambers worked through hard differences to pass the most significant federal housing legislation in more than 30 years. While this bill certainly deserved the president’s signature, the abundance movement is celebrating this victory just as loudly.
“What made this all possible was a change in the question Washington was asking. For years, the debate was about how to help families afford homes that cost too much. Now the question is why homes cost so much in the first place – and more and more people agree on the answer: it’s about supply. We need to build more. That is the abundance case, and this bill is proof it has moved from ideas into law.
“This law clears the way to build: it exempts infill housing from overly extensive environmental review, ends the chassis requirement that has held back manufactured homes, and puts federal dollars behind the communities that choose to say yes to new housing.
“We are grateful to the leaders who made this happen: Chairman Tim Scott and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren in the Senate, Chairman French Hill and Ranking Member Maxine Waters in the House. This legislation is bicameral and bipartisan, and the leadership of both chambers saw it through.
“And we are thankful to our partners: Up for Growth, the Institute for Progress, the Center for Public Enterprise, YIMBY Action, and the more than 100 pro-housing organizations who stood together, time and again, to fight for the strongest possible bill.
“The work of solving the housing crisis is not finished. Congress will need to fix housing finance and clear the other barriers that still hold housing supply back. But this is how a movement wins – not all at once, but by proving progress is possible and then working to build on it.
“A few years ago, abundance was a case made by a handful of writers and advocates. In the last few months, abundance-oriented policy won the votes of strong bipartisan majorities in Congress and is now law. And housing is only the start. The same logic – that the way to bring costs down is to build and produce more – is reshaping the debate on energy, child care, health care, and so much more. Washington is beginning to govern by abundance, and we won’t stop until that beginning becomes the norm.”
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Inclusive Abundance Action is a 501(c)(4) federal legislative advocacy organization committed to implementing solutions that combat self-imposed scarcity.