President Donald Trump allowed a landmark housing bill, the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, to become law overnight on Friday without his signature. Trump had earlier refused to sign the legislation in protest over Congress's failure to pass voter ID legislation but chose not to veto the housing bill.
The housing bill, approved by both chambers of Congress in June in a rare bipartisan agreement, aims to reduce costs and increase housing supply for renters and homebuyers. Experts have described it as the most comprehensive congressional action on lowering housing costs in the 21st Century.
Dennis Shea of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) called the bill "a genuine milestone—and I don't use that word lightly." After Congress passed the legislation, Trump cancelled a signing ceremony and stated he would not sign the bill until voter ID legislation was passed.
Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, widespread election fraud and wanted Republicans to prioritize voter ID laws ahead of the November midterm elections. Several Democrats criticized Trump's refusal to sign the housing bill on social media.
The bill's passage comes as the median price of existing homes in the US reached an all-time high of $440,660 in June, up 1.8% from the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors. A US family needs an income of about $117,000 annually to afford an average home, nearly $30,000 more than most households earn, based on Census data and real estate brokerage Redfin.
Getting Congress to act on housing supply and affordability has been a long time coming, and the American people made clear they were ready for it.
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