12 Apr 2023 BPC Action Applauds Sen. Scott’s Comprehensive Housing Framework    in Housing

Housing is unaffordable for too many families. Millions of households are paying rent that consumes more than 50% of their monthly paychecks, while millions of others are unable to afford their first home purchase. At the heart of today’s housing affordability crisis is the acute shortage of affordable rental homes and entry-level homeownership options. 

BPC Action applauds Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, for calling on Congress to take a ‘comprehensive view of federal policy’ and advance needed reforms to increase the housing supply and promote economic opportunity through a new policy framework, the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act. The framework recognizes the need for Congress to do its part to combat increasingly unaffordable housing and address stark racial and ethnic disparities in housing, including a persistent and staggering gap between the homeownership rates of Black and white households that remains almost unchanged over the last 50 years. 

Sen. Scott’s framework aligns with several key, bipartisan priorities articulated in the American Housing Act, a legislative package developed by BPC and BPC Action to improve housing affordability. It similarly calls for a focus on competition and innovation in the housing sector, investments in solutions that deconcentrate poverty and help families be self-sufficient, and the removal of restrictive regulatory burdens that limit the production and preservation of more affordable housing. 

As Sen. Scott puts legislative language to this framework, we encourage him to look at the American Housing Act as a guide and engage members on both sides of the aisle in a constructive dialogue about how best to meet our nation’s housing needs. BPC and BPC Action will continue to work on building support for these and other key elements to holistically address our housing affordability crisis, with the goal of advancing bipartisan, consensus-driven reform legislation. 

In our divided Congress, Sen. Scott’s thought leadership on these issues will be critical to achieving a successful legislative outcome and ensuring every family in America has access to a safe, decent, and affordable home. BPC Action stands ready to help accomplish this effort in a bipartisan manner.