{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://davidscott.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401975", "Congressman David Scott Leads Bipartisan Effort to Advance Landmark Housing Package Out of the Financial Services Committee", "2025-12-17", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "David Scott", "S001157", "davidscott.house.gov", "davidscott", "https://davidscott.house.gov/news", "scraper", "Read Bill Text\n\nThe Housing for the 21st Century Act cleared a key hurdle by passing near-unanimously out of committee with a 50-1 vote. It now heads to the full House Floor for consideration.\n\nWASHINGTON D.C. - Today, Congressman David Scott (GA-13) joined House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (AR-02), and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43), in passing H.R. 664, the Housing for the 21st Century Act of 2025, a landmark housing package, out of the full committee. The bipartisan measure addresses our nation\u2019s affordable housing crisis and modernizes regulatory challenges impacting homeownership. The final package incorporated several bills filed by Rep. David Scott this year, including his Reforms to Housing Counseling & Financial Literacy Programs Act andStreamlining Rural Housing Act\u2014proposals to tackle Georgia\u2019s housing crisis.\n\n\u201cHousing is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It is an American issue. Today\u2019s committee markup demonstrates what is possible when leadership on both sides chooses collaboration,\u201d said Congressman David Scott. This bipartisan bill reflects thoughtful, principled compromise. It acknowledges that we can strengthen housing oversight while preserving access. It shows that we can fight to protect consumers, enact real accountability, and ensure that housing policy works for those who have historically been left behind. At a time when far too many working-class Georgians are being priced out of their communities, this bill shows recognition that inaction is not an option. I\u2019m proud to support this legislation and look forward to moving it swiftly to the House floor.\u201d\n\nThe Housing for the 21st Century Act addresses the nation\u2019s housing crisis by:\n\nBroadening access to homeownership, including manufactured housing and small dollar mortgages.\n\nReducing regulatory barriers and streamlining permitting, inspection, and environmental review processes to accelerate housing development.\n\nProtecting borrowers and assisted families and enhancing federal oversight of housing providers; and\n\nStrengthening the development of adorable housing for families in both rural and urban communities.\n\nThe Reforms to Housing Counseling & Financial Literacy Programs Act would:\n\nStrengthen HUD\u2019s authority to review housing counseling agencies and individual counselors.\n\nRequire corrective action, additional training, or retesting when performance standards are not met.\n\nExpand access to HUD-approved foreclosure mitigation counseling for certain delinquent borrowers through the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.\n\nThe Streamlining Rural Housing Act which:\n\nDirects the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to align housing standards.\n\nCurrently, rural housing projects that utilize both HUD and USDA programs must undergo slightly different but separate environmental reviews and inspections to receive funding.\n\nThis creates unnecessary red tape for developers and drives up costs, ultimately contributing to the affordable housing shortage in rural communities nationwide.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s committee action brings us one step closer to ensuring these counseling services are accurate, effective, and accountable. Advancing this landmark housing package out of the full committee shows Congress can come together to strengthen federal housing programs and better protect borrowers, especially first-generation homebuyers and communities of color who have historically been targeted by predatory practices,\u201d Congressman David Scott continued.\n\nAccess to safe, decent, and affordable housing is foundation to stable employment, educational outcomes for children, health, and the ability for seniors and people with disabilities to age in place. With nearly 12 million homes needed nationwide and housing costs skyrocketing, the Housing for the 21st Century Act represents a meaningful step toward addressing these challenges while ensuring HUD programs work as intended.\n\nFull text of the housing package can be accessed HERE.", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://davidscott.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=401975"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7779879961162806, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}