A bipartisan housing bill designed to increase housing affordability has become the center of a political dispute in Washington after President Donald Trump postponed signing the measure into law.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., 5th District, helped develop the legislation alongside U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., 1st District. Cleaver said the bill would make homeownership more affordable and called it one of the most significant housing measures considered in decades.
Cleaver expressed frustration that the legislation has become tied to a separate political debate.
“A big yawn. That’s what your president said when he talked about the landmark bill that U.S. Rep. Mike Flood and I worked on for almost two years, and which Congress passed to make your housing more affordable,” Cleaver said.
Another Missouri lawmaker is also backing the measure.
U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., 4th District, who leads the bipartisan House Real Estate Caucus, called the Housing for the 21st Century Act “the most consequential piece of legislation when it comes to housing in more than 20 years.”
Alford told Missourinet the bill would increase housing affordability, help younger Americans buy homes sooner, expand lending opportunities through community banks and reduce regulations that he said have increased housing costs.
Despite Trump’s decision to delay signing the bill, Alford said he expects it will ultimately become law.
“The clock started ticking for him to sign it. If he doesn’t, within a week’s time, it will become law,” Alford said. “I don’t think he would veto this because this is a big win. This is a bipartisan bill, but this is a big win for the American people.”
Not all Missouri lawmakers support the legislation.
U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., 7th District, voted against the bill and argued it would expand government housing programs without addressing the underlying causes of housing affordability challenges.
“If you want more Section 8 government housing, it’s a great bill for you,” Burlison said. “But if you want to be able to buy your own home, if you want to be able to actually bring the cost of housing back down, it’s a horrible bill.”
Burlison also questioned whether expanding government programs is the right approach to helping prospective homebuyers.
Trump has said he is withholding his signature as he pushes the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has said he understands the president’s strategy and believes the housing bill could still become law.
The differing views from Cleaver, Alford and Burlison highlight a split within Missouri’s congressional delegation over both the housing bill and Trump’s decision to tie its future to the fate of the SAVE America Act.
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