For generations, hard work and home ownership were supposed to go hand in hand. Yet for too many families today, the dream of owning a home — or even affording a stable place to rent — feels increasingly out of reach.
That is why the bipartisan passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is such a significant achievement. At a time when partisan divisions often paralyze Washington, lawmakers from both parties came together to confront one of the most pressing challenges facing American families: the shortage of affordable housing.
But Congress should view this legislation as a first step, not a destination.
America’s housing crisis is not simply a supply problem. It is an affordability problem, an equity problem and, increasingly, a wealth-building problem. Building more housing is essential. Yet if we stop there, we will leave millions of working families still locked out of the stability and opportunity that housing provides.
Housing is more than shelter. Home ownership is the primary pathway many families use to build wealth, create financial security and pass opportunity from one generation to the next. When families cannot afford a home, cannot access fair financing or are displaced by rising costs, the consequences ripple through entire communities.
The challenges are particularly acute in Black communities and other historically marginalized neighborhoods, where decades of redlining, appraisal bias, discriminatory lending practices and unequal access to credit have limited opportunities for home ownership and wealth creation. The home ownership gap did not emerge by accident, and it will not disappear on its own.
That is why Congress must build on the foundation laid by the ROAD to Housing Act with a comprehensive national housing agenda that addresses both supply and affordability.
First, lawmakers should provide robust down-payment assistance for first-generation home buyers. For many families, especially those whose parents and grandparents were denied opportunities to accumulate housing wealth, saving for a down payment remains the single greatest obstacle to home ownership.
The Downpayment Toward Equity Act and similar proposals would help level a playing field that has never been level. These measures would provide responsible support to qualified buyers while helping close persistent racial wealth gaps rooted in generations of exclusion from the housing market.
Enforce fair housing laws
Second, Congress must fully fund and vigorously enforce fair housing protections.
The Fair Housing Act remains one of the most important civil rights laws in American history. Yet laws are only as effective as their enforcement. Housing discrimination has not disappeared; it has simply evolved.
Federal programs that investigate discrimination, support victims and ensure compliance require sustained investment. Strong enforcement protects honest lenders, ethical landlords and responsible developers while ensuring families are judged by their ability to succeed rather than by their race, ethnicity or ZIP code.
Third, Congress should advance bipartisan measures that help families hold onto the homes they already own.
The Heirs Estate Inheritance Resolution and Succession Act would help families resolve heirs’ property issues that often lead to involuntary loss of generational assets. The Housing Financial Literacy Act would reward prospective home buyers who complete counseling programs, helping families make informed financial decisions and reducing the likelihood of future distress.
Similarly, the Mortgage Insurance Freedom Act would allow certain Federal Housing Administration borrowers who have built sufficient equity to stop paying unnecessary mortgage insurance premiums. That would put money back into household budgets — funds that could be used for savings, education, home improvements or small-business creation.
These proposals may not generate the headlines that large-scale housing legislation attracts, but they address real barriers that families encounter every day.
Help people live in communities they serve
Congress also should establish a recurring Housing Trust Fund supported by revenue accumulated through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These resources should be dedicated exclusively to financing affordable and workforce housing across the nation.
The need could not be clearer. Teachers, nurses, firefighters, service workers and young professionals increasingly struggle to live in the communities they serve. Seniors on fixed incomes face mounting housing costs. Young families delay home ownership because prices continue to rise faster than wages.
No single policy will solve these challenges. But together, these reforms would create a housing agenda equal to the scale of the crisis.
The bipartisan vote on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act demonstrated Congress can still find common ground when Americans’ basic needs are at stake. Housing should be one of those issues.
Families need more homes. They also need a fair chance to afford them, finance them, insure them and remain in them. Housing policy should not simply increase the number of units on the market; it should expand opportunity, strengthen communities and create pathways to lasting economic security.
Last week, at the invitation of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., I joined members of the House Democrats’ Housing Affordability Working Group to discuss where Congress must go next. My message was simple: Increasing the housing supply is essential, but families also need policies that make housing truly affordable and accessible.
Marc H. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League and was mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002.