In the nature of a substitute.

SA 5823, proposed by Mr. Thune, replaces the content of bill H.R. 6644 with the "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act." This amendment creates a framework to increase the supply and accessibility of American housing through regulatory reform, financial support, and increased accountability.

Housing Production and Expansion

• Increases housing supply through the Innovation Fund, the Accelerating Home Building Act, and the RESIDE Act, which focuses on converting vacant or abandoned buildings into attainable housing.
• Promotes manufactured and modular housing by expanding the definition of manufactured homes to include those without a permanent chassis, establishing new standards, and removing FHA financing barriers for modular developers.
• Supports rural housing through the Housing Preservation and Revitalization Program for multifamily rentals and the Rural Community Development Initiative for grants to improve community facilities and housing.
• Promotes point-access block buildings and allows rental income from accessory dwelling units to be used to qualify for guaranteed loans.

Regulatory and Zoning Reform

• Directs the government to create guidelines for State and local zoning frameworks to reduce barriers such as lot size requirements and parking minimums.
• Streamlines environmental reviews (NEPA) for housing activities and certain projects like infill housing.
• Allows for remote or video inspections for rural housing.

Financial Access and Support

• Creates a pilot program for FHA small-dollar mortgages ($100,000 or less) and an Escrow Expansion Pilot Program to help families in housing assistance programs save money.
• Establishes the Whole-Home Repairs Act for grants and loans regarding energy efficiency, safety, and accessibility updates.
• Increases and annually indexes loan limits for the purchase of manufactured homes and repairs.
• Updates real estate appraiser certification and education requirements, creates a pathway for state-credentialed trainee appraisers, and requires a review process for consumer-initiated reconsideration of appraisals.
• Reauthorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, expanding eligibility to families with incomes up to 100 percent of the area median family income.

Accountability and Oversight

• Requires the Secretary of HUD to testify annually before Congress regarding public housing conditions, departmental operations, and progress on ending homelessness.
• Mandates that "covered public housing agencies" (those under a monitor or receiver) disclose contract details and provide annual assessments to Congress.
• Expresses that loan and grant applications should be determined within 90 days.
• Requires reports from the GAO and federal banking agencies on the causes of insured depository institution failures, including regulatory shortcomings and executive mismanagement.

Specific Population and Disaster Support

• Provides veteran-specific support via the Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act and requires loan applications to notify veterans of VA Home Loan eligibility.
• Establishes the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund and a CDBG Disaster Recovery Program for infrastructure, housing, and economic revitalization after catastrophic disasters.
• Allows recipients to request waivers for homelessness funding expenditure limits from 2027 through 2030.
• Excludes licensed child care providers from certain Department of Agriculture loan restrictions.

Banking and Financial Systems

• Supports community banks by adjusting "reciprocal deposit" amounts and creating exceptions for "custodial deposits."
• Streamlines the application process for new banks (de novo institutions) and creates a Financial Agent Mentor-Protege Program where large institutions mentor small ones.
• Updates board meeting requirements for credit unions based on financial ratings.
• Prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) without an Act of Congress, and requires any such currency to be private, permissionless, and open.

Homeownership Protections

• Bans large institutional investors (those controlling 350 or more single-family homes) from buying single-family homes, with exceptions for foreclosures, new construction, and rentals-to-homeownership programs.
• Creates a renter outreach resource (phone line and website) for those in institutional properties to report legal violations or disputes.
• Imposes civil penalties up to $1,000,000 or 3 times the purchase price for investors who violate the ban, with funds used for affordable housing grants.

Research and General Provisions

• Mandates GAO studies on residential heirs property, housing proximity to Superfund sites, workforce housing for middle-income households, and housing for the disabled and elderly.
• Requires a study on the impact of work requirements for certain Moving to Work demonstration programs.
• Includes a severability clause and specifies that no additional funds are authorized to carry out these requirements.