The House on Wednesday passed an amended bipartisan housing package, kicking the bill back to the Senate.
The 396-13 vote was the second the House has taken on the issue as the two chambers have sparred for months over the details of legislation designed to boost supply and lower the cost of housing.
The various iterations of the bill have maintained shared goals to streamline regulatory requirements to make it easier to build new housing, expand home financing options and modernize existing housing programs.
But House and Senate lawmakers have disagreed on the particulars of how to achieve those goals.
President Trump sought to end the dispute last week when he called on the House to pass the Senate’s latest version of the bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, with ROAD standing for Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream.
Key to Mr. Trump’s support was a provision the Senate added to codify his executive order banning large Wall Street investment firms from buying up housing supply and taking away opportunities for individual homeownership.
House lawmakers in both parties were not ready to accept the Senate language, so they worked with the White House to find a compromise that would maintain the president’s backing.
“The White House supports the House’s housing bill, thanks to the changes that were made,” an administration official said.
The updated version would ban investors with control of more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing more, but with some exceptions.
The House included language to let “build-to-rent” investors continue purchasing homes to flip into rental properties.
The Senate version not only banned such sales, but also would have required companies with more than 350 single-family rental units to sell within seven years.
The House also added provisions to provide regulatory relief to community banks so they can expand home lending opportunities.
Senate leaders in both parties had asserted throughout the week that the House should pass their version of the bill without changes.
Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, insisted Wednesday that the two chambers “remained closely aligned on getting the best possible product to the president’s desk.”
He said the House-amended version is “going to increase the supply, and it’s going to make it easier for local banks to deploy capital in their own communities.”
He added, “All those things are going to help with the cost of living, help with affordability. It’s going to be a big thing for the people.”
Leaders in the Senate Banking Committee that crafted the previous version stood by their product in a statement and suggested the House’s amendment could not clear the Senate.
“The Senate passed a strong, bipartisan housing bill because families across this country need relief from unaffordable housing costs and a fair shot at the American Dream,” Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, and ranking member Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, said in the statement.
“There’s still work to be done, and we are committed to continuing to work with the White House and our colleagues in the House on a housing bill that can pass the Senate and get to the president’s desk,” they said.
