The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) commends the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for introducing the Road to Housing Act of 2025. This legislation represents a significant step forward in recognizing the scale and complexity of the housing challenges we face. We are particularly pleased to see bipartisan collaboration on a bill that spans multiple titles and reflects years of advocacy by CLPHA and our partners.
We applaud members of Congress for answering the urgent call from housing stakeholders and communities across the country to expand housing supply, modernize programs, and strengthen support for low-income families. The comprehensive and bipartisan effort to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis advances CLPHA’s key policy priorities including lifting the Rental Assistance Demonstration cap, codifying tenant protections, supporting manufactured housing, expanding family self-sufficiency programing, and strengthening affordable housing development tools.
While we support the bill’s overall direction, we are concerned about the problematic Moving to Work (MTW) provisions. CLPHA endorses expanding MTW flexibilities to more public housing agencies, but the proposed expansion in the ROAD to Housing comes with significant restrictions on the new cohort and extensive new reporting requirements for all MTW agencies, thereby eroding the local flexibilities that are at the core of MTW.
Below is a breakdown of the provisions CLPHA supports in the Road to Housing and also the concerns about the MTW provisions.
Provisions CLPHA Strongly Supports
We are pleased to see several provisions in the bill that align with CLPHA’s longstanding policy priorities and previous endorsements:
Section 201 – Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program: Lifts the cap on the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and codifies tenant protections.
Section 304 – PRICE Act: Authorizes HUD’s Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program to support manufactured housing communities.
Section 404 – Helping More Families Save Act: Expands HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) initiative to promote economic mobility and homeownership.
Section 502 – HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act: Reauthorizes and strengthens the HOME program, a critical tool for affordable housing development.
Section 505 – Reducing Homelessness through Program Reform Act: Enacts several reforms to homelessness programs by streamlining assistance, reducing barriers to shelter and permanent housing, and enhancing coordination across programs. Section 505 advances CLPHA’s policy priorities by strengthening access to housing and services for vulnerable populations, including families with children who face additional challenges.
Concerns Regarding MTW Provisions (Section 504)
Section 504 of the bill would authorize a new MTW cohort—the “Economic Opportunity and Pathways to Independence Cohort”—with a design that diverges substantially from the original intent and structure of the MTW demonstration. The proposed cohort would:
- Authorize the Secretary to add up to 25 additional high-performing PHAs to the MTW demonstration
- Limit flexibilities to only those codified in the Operations Notice;
- Prohibit key rent policy flexibilities such as stepped rents, minimum rents, and work requirements
- Cap Local, Non-Traditional (LNT) spending at 5%
Introduce extensive new reporting requirements for all MTW agencies, including longitudinal data collection and annual administrative plan submissions.
These changes would increase the administrative burden and potentially dilute the core principles of local flexibility and innovation that have defined MTW since its inception in 1996. CLPHA has long supported the MTW demonstration as a vehicle for locally driven solutions and evidence-based policy. We are concerned that the proposed cohort structure and reporting mandates undermine these goals.
We will work closely with our MTW members and the MTW Collaborative to evaluate the full impact of these provisions and will provide detailed feedback to Congress.
Next Steps
CLPHA will continue to analyze the bill and solicit input from our members. We are committed to working with Congress to ensure that the final legislation reflects the needs and expertise of public housing authorities and the communities we serve.
We thank the bill’s sponsors for their leadership and look forward to engaging in the legislative process to strengthen and refine this important proposal.
CLPHA encourages members to review the full legislative text and the section-by-section summary to better understand the scope and implications of the bill:
Beneficial Provisions Related to HOME, HCV, and RAD Programs Included
Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee announced the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, which includes several bills related to housing that have provisions beneficial to PHAs such as authorizing the HOME Program, incentivizing landlord participation in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, and lifting the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) cap. The bill also includes a very limited expansion of the Moving to Work (MTW) program with significant restrictions on activities for new MTW PHAs and new onerous reporting requirements for all MTW agencies.
The housing package has been agreed to by both Republicans and Democrats on the Committee, but provisions of the bill may be amended once members of the Committee convene to offer amendments and vote on the bill next Tuesday, July 28, at 10:00 a.m. ET. You can listen to the hearing using this link.
The ROAD to Housing Act proposes a new “Economic Opportunity and Pathways to Independence Cohort” MTW Cohort of only 25 agencies focused on providing opt-out savings or escrow accounts for tenants, as well as reporting positive rental payments to consumer reporting agencies. The bill would curtail PHAs in this cohort from adopting program and funding flexibilities available to current MTW agencies. In addition, the legislation imposes burdensome reporting requirements for all MTW PHAs.
The bill also includes a provision to increase housing designated in Opportunity Zones to support housing preservation and construction and lifting the unit cap on the RAD program.
Below is a list of other pieces of legislation proposals to be considered under the Road to Housing Act of 2025 that pertain to CLPHA members:
- HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act: Fully authorizes and makes improvements to the HOME program related to the administration and construction of HOME eligible activities.
- Choice in Affordable Housing Act: Authorizes grants to increase the number of landlords participating in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program through one-time incentive payments, covering security deposits, and issuing bonus payments to PHAs.
- PRICE Act: Authorizes HUD’s Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program to provide grants to communities to maintain, protect, and stabilize manufactured housing communities.
- Helping More Families Save Act: Establishes an opt-out pilot program for the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, automatically enrolling five thousand households.
- Reducing Homelessness through Program Reform Act: Reduces homelessness through improving the HCV program by allowing Housing Assistance Payments to be used for security deposits and utilities and streamlining income verification and inspection process.
CLPHA will continue to monitor the legislation as it moves through the committee process and will provide an updated analysis after the markup on July 29.
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The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley published a study highlighting the important role vouchers play in preventing housing instability and examining the characteristics of households served by the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. Using the Picture of Subsidized Households public dataset from 2024, the report uses interactive maps to show state and county-level data on the percent of voucher households who are families with children, headed by seniors (ages 62+), or have participants with disabilities; and the percent of voucher households who earn most of their income from employment. The report also shows rent-to-income ratios for voucher households, which demonstrates how critical the HCV program is in preventing housing instability and homelessness. Without the subsidy, the average voucher household would face housing costs that exceed their entire monthly income. In 2024, the average rent-to-income ratio for voucher holders was 1.1, meaning their total rent and utility costs were 110% of their income.
The data show that nationwide, the HCV program serves a diverse range of households: 37 percent are families with children, 34 percent are headed by seniors (ages 62+), and 26 percent include a person with a disability. At the state level, the program is equally vital in places like Kansas, Mississippi, and Alabama—states often seen as having a lower cost of living, but where affordability challenges still exist. For example, in Lafayette County, Mississippi, voucher households have an average monthly income of just $1,396, while average rents are $2,231, resulting in a rent-to-income ratio of 1.6. This underscores the continued need for rental assistance even in regions typically considered affordable.
The report underscores the critical need for robust funding for the HCV program to ensure housing stability for millions of Americans. In every state, most voucher holders would not be able to afford their homes without this support. For those who could cover the full rent, doing so would leave them with little to nothing for basic necessities like food, transportation, or healthcare. Cuts to HCV funding or restrictions on eligibility would put countless families, seniors, and people with disabilities at risk of displacement. To combat rising homelessness and growing rent burdens nationwide, increased investment in the HCV program is essential.