Sen. Tim Scott and HUD Secretary Turner highlight bipartisan 'Road to Housing' bill, modular housing and incentives

Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and HUD Secretary Turner used a National Mall showcase to press a bipartisan approach to expanding affordable housing, emphasizing modular and manufactured homes and federal incentives for localities.

"These are real solutions to the affordable housing issue that we have going on in our country," Secretary Turner said, pointing to manufactured housing, modular units and other exhibits on the Mall as practical tools rather than mere concepts.

Scott framed the argument in personal terms. He said his family’s experience with poverty shaped his policy focus and noted that "when the average first-time home buyer today is at 38 years old," the nation is failing to deliver pathways to earlier homeownership. He described the Road to Housing Act as legislation that started with his proposal but became "our bill" after extensive bipartisan staff talks and conversations with members on both sides of the aisle.

Moderator Casey told the audience the Road to Housing Act "is the first bipartisan housing package in over a decade" and that it recently "advanced out of the committee with a 24 to 0 vote." Scott credited broad staff engagement and cross‑party negotiation for that result and singled out collaborations with colleagues including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. John Kennedy as part of the legislative process.

Both speakers stressed nonpartisan urgency. Turner said "poverty doesn't have a party" and argued the federal government should empower people toward self-sufficiency rather than provide indefinite supports. She described meeting a long-term public housing resident in Atlantic City as an example of multi-generational housing challenges that policy must address.

On bureaucratic barriers and program design, Scott highlighted regulatory changes and incentives aimed at accelerating production. He cited efforts to remove outdated technical barriers — for example, eliminating a requirement he called the "chassis" barrier to make modular construction easier — and said the bill uses "carrots, rewards, and sticks" to encourage jurisdictions to increase housing supply. "When you increase your housing supply on the local level, you'll be eligible for more CDBG resources. When you don't meet those thresholds that we set, you lose money on the local level," Scott said, describing how eligibility for Community Development Block Grant funding would be tied to local performance measures in his description of the legislation.

Turner and Scott also touted opportunity zones as a financing tool, with Turner noting permanent status for the program and crediting Scott's role in its architecture and implementation. The pair emphasized public-private partnerships, workforce training and regional coordination as part of a multi-pronged approach.

The panel presented the bill as a legislative and practical package: Scott framed many of its provisions as ways to align federal funding and regulatory flexibility to reward jurisdictions that expand supply, while Turner emphasized HUD's mission to pair support for vulnerable populations with pathways to independence. The moderator closed the session by thanking both speakers; the program adjourned with applause and continued programming to follow.

The Road to Housing Act was reported to have advanced out of committee on a 24–0 vote; the panel did not specify the bill's next scheduled floor action or final enactment timetable.