Lawmakers, builders and bankers praise 21st Century Road to Housing Act at Maumelle event

Congressman French Hill hosted a Saturday morning event in Maumelle, Arkansas, to celebrate enactment of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act and to explain how the law will lower barriers to new home construction and expand financing options locally.

At the event, Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska, who was introduced by Hill and described in the program as chair of the House subcommittee handling housing issues, framed the law as the first comprehensive federal housing legislation in 36 years. "At 12:01 a.m. eastern time ... America, for the first time in 36 years, has comprehensive housing legislation that will unlock housing supply and homes that are affordable in this country," Flood said, recounting the bill's broad bipartisan support in both chambers.

Why it matters: speakers said the law is intended to increase housing supply and reduce costs by modernizing construction rules for manufactured and modular homes, streamlining environmental and development reviews, expanding financing capacity for community banks and tightening HUD oversight.

Key provisions and local implications
- Manufactured and modular housing: JD Harper, executive director of the Arkansas Manufactured Housing Association, said the law removes an outdated chassis requirement and modernizes construction standards to allow quicker, lower-cost production of factory-built homes. "It allows and enables these houses to be built more quickly, more efficiently, and at a lower cost than traditional site built housing," Harper said.
- Community banking and finance: Jeff Lynch, speaking for the Arkansas Bankers Association, said community banks are "the primary source of financing" for local homebuilders and buyers, and described provisions that expand access to stable deposits and reduce compliance burdens so banks can lend more in their communities.
- CDBG and local infrastructure: Hill said the bill expands uses of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to include 1-to-4-family infrastructure construction, which he said gives municipalities an additional tool to attract developers.
- HUD accountability and FHA changes: Hill and others said the law retains reforms meant to strengthen HUD oversight of public housing and the Section 8 voucher program, and includes FHA program changes intended to improve mortgage liquidity.
- Titling and consumer protections: Billy Rohrbeck of Pulaski County Title described a study provision aimed at property titling for new manufactured housing products to protect buyers and secure financing.

Voices from industry and local government
- Wally Loveless, a realtor with Atkins and Associates, highlighted veteran access to homeownership under the law, saying it will increase opportunities for veterans on disability to qualify for mortgage assistance. "For veterans on disability, we'll have the increased opportunity to get government subsidies to help them to buy a home," he said.
- A North Little Rock council member who spoke during the event described local demand for single-family homes that are ADA-compatible and close to care services, and said the project with the developer present would move forward.

Q&A and politics
During a question-and-answer session, reporter Roby Brock asked why the president had not signed the measure. Hill said administration officials, including HUD and Treasury staff, had worked on elements of the bill and that the president had expressed support for its components, but chose not to sign in protest over unrelated disputes in the Senate and other "Sayback" items. "The president... chose... to not sign the bill literally in protest," Hill said, adding that administration statements earlier in the process had signaled support for many provisions.

What was not decided here
The gathering was a celebratory briefing and question-and-answer session; no formal votes or local government actions were recorded at the event.

Next steps
Speakers said implementation will fall to federal agencies, state and local governments and private lenders; industry participants said they will work with community banks, developers and local officials to translate the law's provisions into projects and loans.

(At the event, attendees named in remarks included Mike Flood; Rep. French Hill; developer Ron Harris of Summerwood Homes; JD Harper, executive director of the Arkansas Manufactured Housing Association; Wally Loveless of Atkins and Associates; Jeff Lynch of the Arkansas Bankers Association; Billy Rohrbeck of Pulaski County Title; and Isaac Morales of Encore Bank.)