Trump will let bipartisan housing bill become law without signing in protest over GOP voter ID law
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will allow a bipartisan housing bill passed by Congress to become law without his signature, he said Friday, refusing to put his name to it because of little progress on passing a strict voter ID bill.
“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST of the fact that the United States Senate cannot pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump said on social media.
Trump had 10 days, until Friday, to sign the bill, veto it or allow the measure to take effect without his signature. He allowed the measure to become law without his express approval, undermining his administration’s claims that it viewed it as a priority in fighting inflation.
Trump’s rejection of the bipartisan housing bill further fuels tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short efforts to address voters’ key concerns about rising costs. The post comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign bipartisan legislation and announced he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.
The 21st Century Housing PATH Act aims to lower the cost of housing and encourage more home construction. It’s the broadest federal effort in decades to solve America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations make it harder to build housing in many communities that are also a source of job growth and economic opportunity. White House economists predicted earlier this year National shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help close some of that gap.
However Trump calls bill a “yawn” “very insignificant” compared to legislation requiring proof of citizenship for all voters.
Shortly before a signing ceremony scheduled for June 24 at the Capitol, he surprised Republican lawmakers by announcing that he would not approve the bill until lawmakers passed it on the ballot.
That bill, SAVE America ActIt doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.
The housing bill passed the Senate by a vote of 85-5 and the House approved it by a vote of 358-32.
This law aims to reduce federal housing rules, reduce environmental reviews, speed up home building and limit the ability of companies to purchase single-family homes.
The bill does not address all the causes of the nation’s housing problems, including construction worker shortages, rising insurance costs and wages for renters and buyers not rising fast enough.
But the bill has received support from the real estate industry and housing advocates.
The U.S. housing market has been a driver of recent affordability challenges as skyrocketing prices keep eager buyers out of the market. The median sales price in June rose 1.8% from a year earlier to $440,600, an all-time high based on data dating back to 1999, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
