Federal Update: Senate Passes Bipartisan Housing Package; House Path Uncertain 

Earlier today, the Senate approved the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a sweeping bipartisan housing package aimed at lowering housing costs and expanding supply. The bill passed by an 89-10 margin, with most opposition coming from conservative Republicans and one Democrat, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI). The legislation now moves to the House, where its path forward remains uncertain. 

The bill combines elements of the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act (S. 2651) and the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644). Led by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the package includes incentives to increase housing construction, a program to convert abandoned buildings into housing, and new grants to rehabilitate existing housing stock. 

The measure also incorporates several provisions negotiated with the Trump administration, including restrictions on institutional investors purchasing single-family homes in certain cases and a temporary prohibition on the Federal Reserve issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) through 2030. 

Despite overwhelming Senate support, the bill faces significant headwinds in the House. Some Republican leaders and conservative lawmakers have criticized the Senate process, arguing the House was largely excluded from negotiations despite passing its own housing package earlier this year. Concerns have also been raised about specific provisions, including the temporary CBDC restriction and other policy differences from the House approach. 

For his part, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has suggested the House and Senate may ultimately need to enter a formal conference process to reconcile differences between the chambers. However, Senate leaders have expressed hope that the bill’s broad bipartisan support – and backing from the White House – could help move it forward without a prolonged conference. 

Of particular interest to counties, the bill retains language from the Build Now Act, which would introduce a performance-based incentive structure within the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. While the proposal could reduce funding for jurisdictions with slower housing growth, the compromise includes exemptions expected to shield most California counties from potential reductions. 

House Panel Investigating California for Alleged Medicaid Fraud 

Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee – which has jurisdiction over the Medicaid program – have launched an inquiry examining potential fraud and oversight issues across 10 states. California is among the states that received a letter requesting information, records, and communications by March 17 as part of the Committee’s review of Medicaid program integrity. 

The letter references recent reports and prosecutions involving Medicaid fraud in several states and highlights the growth of California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program over the past decade. IHSS provides in-home care services to eligible seniors and individuals with disabilities and is administered at the local level by county social services departments, making it one of the largest county-implemented Medicaid programs in the state. 

Federal Court Orders FEMA to Restore BRIC Disaster Mitigation Funding 

A federal court has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to restore funding for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program following a lawsuit brought by a coalition of 23 states, including California. The court ruled in December that FEMA’s termination of the long-standing pre-disaster mitigation program was unlawful and, after determining the agency had not taken sufficient steps to comply with that decision, recently ordered FEMA to fully implement the ruling. 

The latest order requires FEMA to make mitigation funding available as required by law, communicate the status of previously selected BRIC projects to states, submit compliance reports to the court, and issue a FY 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity within 21 days. 

BRIC has been a major source of federal funding for local resilience projects, supporting efforts such as wildfire mitigation, flood control, and infrastructure hardening. Over the past four years, FEMA selected nearly 2,000 projects totaling approximately $4.5 billion nationwide through the program. 

States argued that the program’s cancellation delayed or scaled back hundreds of projects that were already in the pipeline. The court’s order could allow those projects to move forward and potentially reopen access to new mitigation funding opportunities, though FEMA will still need to implement the ruling and release updated program guidance. 

House Democrats Introduce DROUGHT Act 

Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA), along with several other members of the California congressional delegation, recently introduced legislation – the Drought Relief Obtained Using Government Help Today (DROUGHT) Act – aimed at expanding federal support for local water infrastructure projects in drought-impacted communities. 

Specifically, the measure would allow projects financed through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program to receive up to 90 percent federal support (up from the current 80 percent cap) if they serve areas experiencing extreme drought, disadvantaged communities, or projects of regional significance. The proposal is intended to provide greater flexibility for local governments and water agencies pursuing large-scale water supply and reliability projects by allowing WIFIA loans to be layered with additional federal funding.