U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) released a discussion draft of a bill he authored that seeks to reform the U.S. housing market.
The discussion draft of his bill – the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act – was released ahead of a hearing on the subject held by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Scott’s ROAD to Housing is designed to increase the housing supply, improve the quality of life for families, and provide economic opportunity for communities across the nation.
Among its provisions, the bill aims to ensure that households who utilize federal housing programs have greater access to tools that enhance financial literacy and improve economic opportunity. It also intends to encourage responsible innovation and allow for new approaches to ensure that communities can meet the housing needs of their residents.
Further, the ROAD to Housing will focus on rewarding the efforts of housing and service providers or communities who actually reduce the number of individuals who are homeless. In addition, it will support local public housing authorities by investing in solutions that de-concentrate poverty and enable families to access self-sufficiency.
Finally, the bill will review how overregulation contributes to excessive costs and delays in the supply of affordable housing. It will also look at how agencies collect and analyze data to help policymakers better understand if programs are working.