Housing for the 21st Century Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, let me first start by applauding Chairman Hill for his leadership in advancing this landmark legislation. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is exactly the kind of commonsense housing reform needed to increase housing supply and help lower costs for American families.

As the chairman of the Financial Institution Subcommittee, I want to address Title IX of this bill. It deals with regulatory relief for community banks. Community banks represent the backbone of the housing industry, providing home loans for many first-time home buyers and serving as critical lenders to homebuilders.

For years, Federal regulators have written rules as if every bank in America is a trillion-dollar global institution and then act surprised when community banks disappear and housing costs skyrocket.

For Kentucky, this is personal. Community banks are the financial infrastructure of housing in rural America. When they thrive, small towns thrive. When they are regulated out of existence, capital dries up and the opportunity for homeownership disappears.

This legislation changes that. By streamlining de novo formation, increasing supervisory transparency, and strengthening access to deposits, community banks can better serve their communities and remain a key contributor to the home loan market, expanding opportunities not just for Kentuckians but for Americans to become homeowners.

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