Himes Delivers on Housing Affordability, Congress Passes Landmark Housing Legislation

[O'Neil, Sean (Himes)]

 

PRESS RELEASE 

June 23, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Sean O'Neil, Se...@mail.house.gov

 

Himes Delivers on Housing Affordability, Congress Passes Landmark Housing Legislation

 

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) celebrated the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a sweeping legislative package focused on housing affordability that included two of his bills: the Build Now Act and the Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act. Both of Congressman Himes’ bills aim to lower housing costs, ensure seniors can retire in their communities, and bring the average age of a first-time homebuyer down from 40 years old as of 2025.

 

“The overwhelming bipartisan vote in favor of this bill signals what we all know to be true: the housing crisis isn’t a Republican or Democrat problem, it’s an American problem,” said Congressman Himes. “I’m proud that two of my bills were included in this landmark legislation and am hopeful that today marks a turning point in our nation’s effort to bring down housing costs, speed up construction, and expand homeownership. Now that Congress has finally acted, I’m eager to see communities work to get shovels in the ground and I look forward to making the federal government an even better partner in homebuilding.”

 

You can view Rep. Himes’ House Floor remarks in support of the bill here.

 

The House of Representatives today voted 358-32 to send the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to the President’s desk for his signature; the Senate passed the bill yesterday by a vote of 85-5.

 

Included in the historic housing legislation are two of Congressman Himes’ bills.

 

The Build Now Act would help expand housing supply in the United States by:

• Spurring housing construction in high-demand communities by increasing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to localities that build more homes and modestly reducing funding to those that do not.
• Encouraging localities to eliminate red tape, streamline building processes, and simplify local planning and zoning laws to speed up construction.
• Allowing for a three-year grace period for communities to take action and improve their track record of building more housing.
• Providing Department of Housing and Urban Development guidance to communities at risk of CDBG funding reductions due to insufficient construction progress.
  
  

The Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act seeks to boost America’s housing supply by:

• Expanding FHA’s Title I loan program by increasing limits and extending terms on loans for manufactured homes—one of the largest forms of affordable housing.
• Allowing FHA to index property improvement loans to inflation and expand the data it uses when setting loan limits for manufactured homes, securing Title I as an essential tool for the future as home costs continue to rise.
• Extending Title I financing to ADUs, a versatile means of expanding America’s housing supply. 

A one-page summary of the Build Now Act can be found here.

 

A one-page summary of the Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act can be found here.

 

A section-by-section summary of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act can be found here.