WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), the top Democrat on the Senate Housing Subcommittee, announced that two of her major bipartisan bills aimed at combatting America’s housing crisis were included in a package that passed unanimously (24 – 0) out of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee. Smith’s bills were focused on rural housing and combatting homelessness. The package of bills that passed the committee earlier today, the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025, represents the first comprehensive national legislation on housing since the 2008 financial crisis.
“The lack of safe, decent, affordable housing in this country is a choice that we’re making, but with this new legislative package, we’re choosing a different path. For the first time in over a decade, this committee is taking bipartisan action to cut red tape, boost the supply of housing, lower housing costs, and improve how we tackle homelessness in ways that best work for individual communities,” said Senator Smith. “The biggest share of the average Minnesotan’s monthly budget is their rent or their mortgage. Taking action on the housing crisis is one of the best ways we can make life more affordable and better for families, because if you don’t have a safe, decent, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works.”
Smith’s legislation included:
- Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which would preserve affordable homes in small towns and rural communities by updating the Rural Housing Service and its programs for the first time in decades.
- Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reform Act, which would cut red tape and support local solutions for addressing homelessness.
At the committee meeting, Senator Smith spoke and acknowledged that this bill is not the bill that either side would have written alone, as it is the product of tough bipartisan negotiations and compromise. A key provision that was not included was Senator Smith’s bipartisan bill to make homeownership more accessible to Tribal communities, though she vowed to continue pushing and make progress.
You can view Senator Smith’s remarks from the markup hearing here.
Smith has been focused on fixing the affordable housing crisis since she came to the Senate in 2018. She is the top Democrat on the Housing Subcommittee, and in that role, she has held numerous hearings and written legislation focused on a wide array of housing issues, such as addressing homelessness, boosting the supply of housing, investing in rural and senior housing, eliminating health and safety hazards in homes, and fighting against private equity and other bad actors pushing up the cost of housing.
In addition to bills Senator Smith has authored, the package includes numerous bills she supports. Specifically, these bills and provisions would:
- Address land use barriers to housing construction by establishing non-binding zoning guidelines and best practices for states and localities.
- Provide grants and forgivable loans to help homeowners repair and weatherize their properties.
- Encourage the construction of low- and middle-income housing in transit-served, walkable locations.
- Preserve and revitalize manufactured homes and communities by upgrading community infrastructure, such as improved roads, storm drainage, and electrical systems.
- Allow more families residing in public housing to pursue economic mobility by allowing more families to save.
- Make it easier for landlords to accept Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), by simplifying inspections of properties.
- Update the existing HOME Investment Partnerships program, by streamlining it and improving flexibility.
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