March 5, 2026
Dear Senators and Representatives:
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union, the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write to offer our views regarding S. 2651, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. As the Senate begins debate and consideration of S. 2651, we believe that updated legislation represents a mixed bag with many strong provisions offset with policies that will undercut its well-intentioned goals. Our country needs fewer rules, regulations, and federal involvement in the housing system, and in several ways the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act exacerbates those structural problems.
This legislation rightly identifies the core reason single-family and multi-family housing units have become less affordable: onerous state and local government regulations. These government-manufactured barriers include exclusionary land use requirements, exorbitant building fees, stringent environmental laws, and even minimum parking lot space per apartment unit rules. Burdensome regulations make it costly to build housing units, which prevents the supply of housing from reaching an equilibrium with housing demand.
These regulations stifle new home building and have created a persistent gap between housing supply and demand, and ultimately put financial pressure on the wallets of working class Americans. In fact, a new report shows the supply deficit widened to an estimated 4.03 million homes last year from 3.80 million in 2024. Until these barriers are addressed, millions of families will continue to suffer from the country’s lack of affordable housing.
We are pleased to see smart policies that help address these issues. Specifically, Sections 207 and 208 target onerous environmental and National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) reviews, improve coordination between federal agencies, and issue voluntary guidelines on how localities can cut red rape to build more housing. These positive changes will get the government out of the way and allow private sector actors to actually build.
Nevertheless, NTU is particularly concerned with provisions that could upend what the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act seeks to achieve. First, we strongly oppose the authorizations for new housing grants that would be administered by HUD. The federal government is already too involved in America’s housing system and additional grants would not be a solution to the problem. Already, there are 20 different governmental entities overseeing 160 housing assistance programs and activities designed to make housing affordable. Taxpayers cannot afford any new programs.
There are hundreds of millions of dollars worth of authorizations that will most likely not create more housing. The best solution is to consolidate duplicative programs and better utilize existing resources.
Second, we are extremely concerned about efforts to curtail voluntary transactions between willing buyers and sellers, no matter if they are individuals, families, businesses, or corporations. While the legislation does include a number of significant exemptions to the large investors ban on single-family homes, there is little reason for such a ban to be implemented in the first place. Section 901 represents one of the most significant government intrusions into the housing market in recent memory.
Institutional investors represent a relatively small share of the overall housing market. The vast majority of single-family homes in the United States are owned by individual homeowners, not Wall Street firms. The largest institutional investors collectively own 450,000 single-family homes as of 2022, representing only about 2% of the single-family rental housing stock across the U.S., according to the Government Accountability Office. This limited footprint makes it implausible to argue that they are driving nationwide price increases that have affected urban, suburban, and rural communities alike.
Further, S. 2651 gives the Treasury Secretary significant power and authority to enforce Section 901. A vague interpretation of the proposed text might enable the Trump Administration—or a future Democratic one—the power to alter definitions of what qualifies as a “large” institutional investor. Ceding more power to the Executive Branch has largely proven to come at the expense of taxpayers, consumers, and businesses.
We urge the Senate to refine this legislation and work with the House—possibly through a conference committee—to resolve some of the outstanding policy disagreements. We are hopeful that, through more negotiations and collaboration, this package will result in a product that is closer to the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act, which enjoyed strong bipartisan support and the endorsement of many right-of-center organizations.
Families and communities nationwide depend on a housing market that is affordable. NTU has long supported bipartisan legislation that delivers proven solutions that can actually build more housing units: pro-growth tax policies, regulatory reductions, and less federal involvement. We are pleased to support many strong elements to S. 2651, and we stand ready to assist lawmakers on improvements to this package that best serve taxpayers.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Vice President for Federal Affairs