Senate Banking Committee Passes Bipartisan Housing Bill

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a markup for theRenewing Opportunity in the AmericanDream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025. This affordable housing legislation includes two bipartisan provisions authored by U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) addressing the appraisal workforce shortage and streamlined inspections for new landlords. The committee advanced the housing legislation package unanimously. This was Banking Committee’s first housing markup in over a decade.
“Like the rest of the country, North Dakota struggles to provide enough affordable housing to meet the demand that’s on our landlords,”said Cramer.“I truly believe that a market-based solution exists and am grateful that Chairman Tim Scott prioritizes these solutions and that he held, if you can imagine this, the first housing markup on the Banking Committee in over a decade. It’s the first housing markup since I’ve been in the Senate. This bill is really a great example of collaborative, bipartisan work in the Senate. Both my Choice in Affordable Housing Act and my Appraisal Industry Improvement Act were ideas that actually came from stakeholders who want to do more for our communities, that includes landlords, that certainly includes advocates, and really includes the entire spectrum and value chain of the real estate business in North Dakota. My goal with these bills is simply to reduce the bureaucratic red tape by streamlining inspections for new landlords and then reforming the appraisal process to meet this the high demand.”
Rural communities are experiencing an appraiser shortage, leading to delays for appraisals and extending the homebuying process for purchasers and sellers. North Dakotans have experienced an average wait time of 21 days for home appraisals, while the national average is between six to nine days. Cramer introduced theAppraisal Industry Improvement Actalongside Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) earlier this year, which supports training and education efforts for appraisers to improve access to the housing market without decreasing the quality of appraisals.
TheROAD to Housing Actalso includes a portion of Cramer and U.S. Senator Chris Coons’ (D-DE)Choice in Affordable Housing Actto reduce U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development inspection delays. This section allows units financed through other federal housing programs to automatically satisfy voucher inspection requirements if inspected within the past year. Additionally, it reduces duplication and administrative burden for new landlords to request pre-inspections to increase access to housing for voucher holders and encourage landlord participation.
The markup also included two bills Cramer cosponsored, theCommunity Investment and Prosperity Actand theRural Housing Service Reform Act.Specifically, theCommunity Investment and Prosperity Actincreases the Public Welfare Investment cap from 15% to 20%, to enhance banks’ capacity to make investments in affordable housing. The last time Congress raised the cap on “public welfare investments” was in 2006 as part of theFinancial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006.This increased investment will help supply the demand for affordable housing.

TheRural Housing Service Reform Act, led by U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Tina Smith (D-MN) expands housing opportunities by offering loans, grants, and rental assistance to rural communities across the country. Rural communities only saw a 1.7% increase in the number of housing units between 2010 and 2020, with almost half of states seeing a decrease in the number of rural units available. The bill also makes critical reforms to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service programs, including allowing Section 521 Rental Assistance to continue even after a Section 515 mortgage matures. Under current law, when a Section 515 mortgage expires, the associated rental assistance ends as well. These updates will allow affordable housing units to stay available even after a mortgage with USDA is paid off.
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