US Senate advances Bill to lower housing prices
The Straits Times
The Bill would overhaul regulations to make it faster and cheaper to build new housing. Read more at straitstimes.com.
WASHINGTON - Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress are lining up behind legislation to encourage more affordable housing, in a rare example of bipartisan action on a quality-of-life issue for voters.
The Bill, which has drawn broad support from industry groups, would overhaul regulations to make it faster and cheaper to build new housing.
It would also modernise rules for factory-built housing and ban large investment groups from buying more single-family homes, a measure backed by President Donald Trump.
The Senate late on March 11 voted 84-10 to back a compromise version of the measure and 82-11 to clear the way for a vote on passage, likely on March 12.
At a time when Republicans and Democrats are fighting bitterly over Mr Trump’s immigration crackdown and the war on Iran, lawmakers have rallied around the affordable-housing effort.
The latest version is spearheaded by Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
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