Senate Committee Releases New Bill to Address Housing Shortage

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Senators Warren, Hill, and Waters released an updated version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on June 16, according to the Senate Banking Committee.

The bill was first introduced in the House as H.R. 6644. It has 38 sections organized into six main parts, covering different areas of housing policy, per a Congressional Research Service analysis published in May 2026.

One major piece inside the bill is the Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development (BUILD) Housing Act. This part focuses on government rules and financing that have made it harder to build new homes. Local leaders and housing experts say these barriers are a main reason why there is not enough housing in many communities.

The fact that Scott and Warren are working together on this is worth noting. The two senators are not usual partners, and their collaboration suggests they are trying to build broad support in Congress before the bill reaches a vote on the Senate floor. Whether that partnership stays strong through debate and amendments will say a lot about whether the bill can pass.

The bill touches on many different areas. It deals with zoning laws — the local rules that decide what gets built where — federal land that could be used for housing, how to finance new construction, and how different government agencies work together.

That broad approach cuts both ways. Different groups of lawmakers have different reasons to support parts of it, which helps build a larger coalition. But it also means there are more places where disagreements could start, and any one section could become a major fight on the floor.

Releasing the updated text before a floor vote matters procedurally. It gives housing companies, state housing agencies, city governments, and advocacy groups time to point out any technical problems in the language before the bill gets locked into its final form for a vote. For a complicated bill like this, that review period often determines whether problems show up during debate in Congress or later when government agencies write the rules to carry out the law.