House Republicans are digging in against a landmark bipartisan housing bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate last month, threatening to force a conference committee to resolve differences that could derail what would be the most significant federal housing legislation in decades.

Because the Senate’s housing bill was passed without the community bank provisions Rep. Hill championed, the two chambers are likely headed toward a conference committee to resolve their differences. Hill expressed disappointment that the Senate did not include his reforms, noting that community banks of under $10 billion in assets are responsible for approximately 60% of all residential construction loans.

The U.S. Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act by a vote of 89-10 on March 12, combining elements from both chambers’ housing packages into what supporters call the largest federal housing reform effort in three decades. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about how his legislation will lower housing costs by expanding supply, cutting red tape, and empowering local communities to build more homes. For Chairman Scott, housing affordability is deeply personal, and his story is what motivated him to spearhead this bipartisan, bicameral legislation with Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren and make the American dream of homeownership a reality for more Americans.

But House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) has repeatedly signaled resistance to the Senate version, citing what he calls “substantive differences” that fail to adequately represent House Republican priorities.

“There are members in the House whose provisions and views were not accounted for in the current iteration of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act,” Hill said in a statement. “It is critical we get the details right and mitigate some of the concerns raised by House members with the Senate bill. I hope the work Senator Scott and I have done together can eventually become law, and I look forward to working with all parties to achieve a bicameral success that will bring down the cost of housing and benefit the American people.”

The stalemate centers on several key provisions that have divided the chambers. Some House members are upset that the Senate gutted community banking language in the bill. The House legislation included provisions that would direct federal financial regulators to help support the creation of new community banks and credit unions through means like streamlining the application process.

House Republicans are also concerned about restrictions on institutional investors. Some House Republicans have also been unhappy with a provision in the bill requiring large institutional investors of build-to-rent single-family homes to sell that property within seven years. “When is it constitutional for us as a government to tell a business when they take the risk, they go out, they build something that we’re going to take away your right to do with it, whatever you are legally able to do with it? That is unconstitutional.”

The tension has created an unusual dynamic where House Republicans are resisting legislation that has received strong support from President Trump and passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan backing. By passing this legislation, Congress is delivering on President Trump’s agenda and ensuring that 2026 is truly the year of affordability.

But it is uncertain if it can pass the House as is, and President Donald Trump has signaled he’s not as interested in the package as he is in passing separate voting legislation. According to sources, Johnson told members that Trump privately stressed to him the importance of the SAVE America Act and that the president said “no one gives a (bleep) about housing,” according to a lawmaker who was there. However, A White House spokesman, Davis Ingle, denied that the exchange took place, saying that it’s “not accurate whatsoever” and that Trump “has been laser-focused on making housing more affordable.”

The legislation addresses America’s housing crisis through multiple approaches. The 303-page legislation creates a series of grants and pilot programs for housing construction, while revising federal definitions to encourage more housing units and prevent Wall Street from buying up tons of single-family homes.

The bill (1) cuts red tape, (2) unlocks housing supply, (3) lowers costs, and (4) generates no new government spending.

Housing advocates and industry groups have thrown their support behind the measure. “By confronting barriers to housing at all levels of government, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act represents the kind of comprehensive response needed to restore affordability and expand the dream of homeownership to more Americans,” said Kevin Brown, 2026 President, National Association of REALTORS. “For the first time in more than a decade, we are seeing strong, bipartisan action in Congress to address the housing crisis through pragmatic, locally informed policy solutions based on partnerships, not preemptions,” said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities.

The stakes are significant given the severity of the housing crisis. Sky-high housing prices driven in part by demand outstripping supply have locked many Americans out of homeownership, with the median cost of a home currently just over $400,000.

“Today, the average age of a first-time homebuyer is 40. Forty years old before you ever experience the American