Hold onto your unaffordable rent payments, folks! After what feels like an eternity (or, you know, just since the last massive housing crisis a decade and a half ago), the U.S. Senate has stirred. With a nearly unanimous 89-10 vote, they’ve passed the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.” With a name that bold and full of acronyms, it must solve everything, right?

This legislative masterpiece is being hailed as the first “major housing bill” to escape the Senate since the subprime mortgage crisis (Source: Yahoo Finance). It’s truly inspiring to see our elected officials tackling a problem with such blistering speed. It only took them 15+ years to decide something ought to be done. Bravo.

The Genius Plan We’ve Never Heard Before

So, what revolutionary ideas are contained within this bill? Prepare to have your minds blown. The core objectives are to “lower costs” and “increase the housing supply.” (Source: TIME). They plan to achieve this through the shockingly original methods of “easing regulations” and “increasing funding for housing initiatives.” Who could have possibly thought of that?

To show they mean business, this single bill is a Frankenstein’s monster of other proposed acts, including:

• The Housing Supply Expansion Act
• The RESIDE Act
• The Rural Housing Service Reform Act
• The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act

…and more! (Source: New York Metropolitan Magazine). It’s a legislative turducken—a bill stuffed inside a bill stuffed inside another bill. Surely, cramming all these ideas together will result in a coherent and effective solution and not a bureaucratic nightmare.

A Heartwarming Campfire of Bipartisan Unity… For Now

Perhaps the most shocking news is the overwhelming bipartisan support. It seems the one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on is that, yes, housing is ridiculously expensive. (Source: NBC News). It’s a touching moment of clarity.

But don’t get too misty-eyed. The bill now travels to the House of Representatives, where its reception is best described as… lukewarm. House Financial Services Chair French Hill called the Senate vote “an important first step,” which is the political equivalent of saying, “Thanks, we’ll take it from here,” before rewriting the whole thing. (Source: POLITICO). Concerns have already been raised, suggesting this bipartisan “ROAD to Housing” is about to hit the traffic jam of House negotiations. (Source: Newsweek).

So, Is The Crisis Over?

In short: LOL, no.

The Senate passed a piece of paper. A very important, well-supported piece of paper, but paper nonetheless. Whether this act will ever become law and have a tangible impact on your ability to afford a place to live is, to put it mildly, uncertain. It must still survive the House and get a presidential signature, all while navigating the complexities of the actual economy.

For now, we can all sleep soundly knowing our leaders have taken a “major step.” It’s a step on a very, very long road, but it’s a step. Maybe in another 15 years, they’ll take another one.

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Sources (The Facts Behind the Snark)

• Yahoo Finance: The Senate passed its first major housing bill since the subprime mortgage crisis. Can it actually become law?
• TIME: Here’s What’s In the Sweeping Housing Bill the Senate Passed
• NBC News: Senators to take up Trump’s voting bill; bipartisan housing bill passes in Senate
• Newsweek: US Housing Bill Moves Forward—What Happens Next?
• Billiondollarbroker.net: THE SENATE JUST PASSED THE BIGGEST HOUSING BILL IN DECADES. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU.
• New York Metropolitan Magazine: Senate passes 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the most substantial affordable housing legislation in decades
• KATC: Senate passes Kennedy’s Build Now Act in major housing package
• POLITICO: Trump goes his own way on housing