House weighs changing Senate housing bill that includes large investor ban

“I think everybody feels like it’s important, so we’re just working on some nuances,” the speaker said.

Attempting to pass a different bill than the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which cleared the Senate in March, could lead the House to reopen debate over several controversial aspects of the legislation, especially a provision, backed by Trump, that would ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

The underlying bill is meant to ease the housing affordability crunch by lessening some government regulations on housing and incentivizing state and local governments to ease land-use regulations.

HERE ARE THE HOLDUPS FOR THE BILL MEANT TO FIX THE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS House Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) also said Tuesday that he supports Hill’s push to “work out the differences” on the housing legislation.

“What we want to see is a bill that reflects a combination,” Scalise said. “Obviously, there are differences — key differences — between the House and Senate bill. And there’s a reason we passed the version we did.”

The House could attempt to amend the Senate legislation, add and subtract provisions, and then send it back to the Senate for a vote. But it is not yet clear what specific changes would be made.

“Leader Scalise said it clearly that he says that the House is going to be working on something different to send to the Senate — even though Trump endorsed ROAD to Housing, that is still something which the House does not feel great about moving forward with,” a GOP aide told the Washington Examiner.

Some members of the House have raised objections to provisions of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, in particular the ban on purchases by institutional investors.

The ban was added to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act after Trump called for it in his 2026 State of the Union address. The bill also contains language that would require investors in build-to-rent homes to sell those houses within seven years. Housing experts argue it would decrease the housing stock, and industry groups have come out hard against the proposal.

The National Association of Home Builders, long a supporter of the bipartisan legislation, threatened to withdraw support over the bill’s language. 

Also, in an open letter, a group of prominent housing experts and economists told lawmakers that it would make housing investment uneconomical and amount to a soft ban. They also said it would directly lead to fewer homes being built.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act also includes language, aimed at appeasing conservatives, that applies a temporary ban on central bank digital currencies.

A CBDC is a form of digital currency issued by a central bank. In the United States, that would be the Federal Reserve. Consumers would be able to use digital money issued directly by the Fed in addition to cash. Proponents of a CBDC argue that a centralized dollar would help prevent bank bailouts and increase efficiency.

But opponents, many of whom are Republicans, contend that it could give the Fed too much power or could raise Fourth Amendment concerns, depending on how much control the government would have over individual accounts.

The housing legislation that passed the Senate would ban the Fed from issuing a central bank digital currency — but only through 2030.

Some House conservatives don’t think the 2030 sunset goes far enough and are hoping that, rather than having an expiration, the CBDC ban would be permanent, a long-standing goal for the House Freedom Caucus.

Senate backers are still pushing for the House to pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as is. The Washington Examiner asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, about her thoughts on Johnson’s comments about revising the legislation, particularly in light of Trump’s call to pass it.

“It’s not a question about the Senate. Johnson should call Donald Trump and tell him that,” Warren told the Washington Examiner. “I’m waiting to hear that phone call.”

Also, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told reporters on Tuesday that he thinks there are “only one or two congresspeople” holding up the legislation.

Trump on Monday night posted a message on social media calling on the House to vote for the Senate housing legislation. 

“I am asking Congress to pass that Bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which would ensure that homes are for people, not Corporations,” Trump said. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The message of support comes after the president previously downplayed the legislation in an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner.

Trump said during a phone call at the time that he was pushing for the housing bill but that “we have other things we’re pushing that are bigger, and right now, more important.”

A spokesperson for the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday emphasized that the committee wants the housing bill to appease both the House and the Senate.

“We remain committed to advancing a bicameral housing bill that reflects the views of both chambers to President Trump’s desk,” the spokesperson said.