In a rare bipartisan feat, Republicans and Democrats in Congress overwhelmingly passed the "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act" earlier this week.
The final vote in the U.S. House was 358-32, while the U.S. Senate passed the bill by a tally of 85-5. It aims to remove barriers to building housing, limit corporate ownership of single-family homes and ultimately lower the cost of housing for renters and buyers.
But on Wednesday, President Trump canceled his planned signing of the bill, and said he wouldn’t put pen to paper unless the Senate also passes the controversial “SAVE America Act.”
That unrelated bill would impose restrictions on mail-in voting as well as voter ID laws. The Senate has not come close to reaching the filibuster-proof threshold of 60 votes needed to pass it.
Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat who represents the 3rd district of Kansas, told KCUR’s Up To Date that she was incredibly frustrated about Trump's refusal.
“It has been decades since we saw meaningful movement in terms of addressing the housing issues that we have. This is the largest housing bill in 30 years that we've seen, and it's got bipartisan support in this day and age,” she said.
“This is nonsense," she continued. "The President needs to sign the bill so we can get this passed into law, and help people who literally can't afford to pay their bills.”
- U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, 3rd Congressional District of Kansas
