Rushmore State News

U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has advanced several housing initiatives for South Dakota during a bipartisan session of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. These measures were included in the Road to Housing Act, which represents the first significant update to the Rural Housing Service in more than ten years.

Rounds emphasized the importance of these provisions for local communities. “Access to safe affordable housing is critical to the strength and future of our communities. I’m proud that my legislation became key provisions in this bill, including modernizing rural housing programs, cutting burdensome regulations and giving local communities more tools to address homelessness and housing shortages,” said Rounds. “These are real wins for South Dakota. President Trump and Secretary Scott Turner have made it clear that increasing our housing supply is a national priority and this legislation moves us in the right direction.”

Four bills authored by Rounds were incorporated into the broader package:

- The Rural Housing Service Reform Act aims to update federal rural housing programs under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It addresses issues with aging Section 515 properties, brings income calculations in line with HUD standards, simplifies foreclosure and loan approval processes, invests in IT improvements, makes home repair loans easier to access, and expands eligibility for USDA loan guarantees.

- The Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act seeks to modernize how projects funded by HUD undergo environmental review under NEPA.

- The Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reform Act would lessen administrative burdens on homeless service providers by moving funding applications to a two-year cycle and removing barriers that delay access to services. It also aims to improve coordination among local agencies, support workforce development efforts, enhance data use—including artificial intelligence—and expand channels for feedback on HUD policy.

- The Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development (BUILD) Housing Act proposes further modernization of NEPA reviews by sharing capacity between HUD and state or local governments. It also aligns HUD’s standards with those of other agencies through delegated reviews and allows greater flexibility in designating certain funds as “special project funds.”

The Road to Housing Act is sponsored by Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). The act intends to expand affordable housing options by reducing regulatory barriers, encouraging new construction methods, addressing property blight, supporting disaster recovery efforts, improving affordability for buyers, reducing homelessness rates, expanding opportunities for veterans, promoting accountability through evidence-based policies, strengthening program integrity, coordinating federal efforts across agencies, and enhancing transparency.