The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Auto-Enacted After 10-Day Constitutional Deadline as Trump Refused to Sign in Protest Over Senate’s Failure to Pass the SAVE America Voter ID Bill
President Donald Trump said he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill that Congress passed last month, in protest of Republicans’ failure to pass a controversial election measure known as the SAVE America Act.
The housing bill; officially called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, became law automatically at midnight Friday, after the 10-day constitutional clock expired without a presidential signature or veto. CNBC
The bill, the most comprehensive housing legislation in decades, aims to increase housing supply and bring down costs, including by limiting institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes. The National Association of Realtors reported that home prices last month rose to the highest level on record. The median price of an existing home sold in June was $440,600, an increase of 1.8% from the year before.
The bill is packed with more than 40 provisions contributed by both Republicans and Democrats, covering everything from corporate home ownership to manufactured housing. One provision removes a requirement that manufactured homes have a permanent chassis; reducing costs by an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 per home.
The SAVE Act, which is tied up in opposition from Senate Democrats and some GOP lawmakers, would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. It remains stalled in the Senate due to the 60-vote filibuster threshold and Trump’s effort to use the housing bill as leverage has now run out of time.
The housing bill became law not because Trump signed it, but because the Constitution would not let him quietly kill it. For the 40 million Americans who are rent-burdened, the mechanism matters less than the result.
Check out our previous coverage of US housing policy and the economy on The Trusted Times.
