- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Real Estate
Senators have proposed amendments to add tribal housing provisions to a sweeping housing package moving through Congress.
The amendments target the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644) introduced Dec. 11, 2025 by Rep. French Hill, R‑Ark., with Rep. Maxine Waters, D‑Calif., Rep. Mike Flood, R‑Neb., and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D‑Mo. all joining as cosponsors.
The bill aims to expand housing supply, streamline environmental reviews and update programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It passed the House and is now under consideration in the Senate.
Tribal housing advocates say the legislation advanced from the House without provisions addressing programs that support housing development in Indian Country.
“Tribal housing cannot be left out of a once-in-a-generation overhaul,” Rudy Soto, executive director of the National American Indian Housing Council, said. “If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.”
The bill contains several streamlining and programmatic updates, including relaxing National Environmental Policy Act requirements for small developments and raising investment caps for banks.
Most notably, the package does not include updates to the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act, or NAHSDA.
NAHASDA has not been reauthorized since 2013, and its statutory framework has not been updated since 2008. Funding for NAHASDA programs, including the Indian Housing Block Grant, has remained largely flat for years outside of recent increases over the past two years.
NAIHC said the omission would leave tribal nations operating under outdated requirements while other HUD programs receive expanded authorities. Soto pointed to longstanding housing challenges in tribal communities, including overcrowding rates nearly eight times the national average and a documented need for tens of thousands of new homes to replace inadequate units and relieve overcrowding.
Incorporating NAHASDA into the broader housing package would allow tribal nations to benefit from the same streamlining and modernization efforts applied elsewhere in the bill, Soto said. The changes could reduce administrative burdens and expand access to private financing through tribal mortgage programs such as the Section 184 and HUD-VASH for Native veterans.
Soto said that when legislation does not explicitly address tribal needs, Native communities often must return to Congress later to seek amendments. He urged Congress to take up NAHASDA reauthorization separately if the broader housing package advances without those changes.
Soto also noted support from Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who have pushed for tribal housing provisions as the bill moves toward final Senate consideration. He said NAIHC hopes committees with jurisdiction will take a closer look at the changes sought by tribal housing leaders before the package advances.
Several Senate amendments introduced this week would add tribal housing provisions to the bill.
One amendment from Murkowski, Schatz and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, would allow tribes to raise income limits for eligible families up to 120% of area median income while keeping most units reserved for low‑income households. The change is meant to expand homeownership access in tribal communities.
Another amendment would streamline environmental reviews by allowing tribes to rely on HUD approvals to satisfy other federal requirements when NAHASDA or ICDBG funds are the primary source of financing.
A third proposal would provide tribes and rural communities a waiver from Build America, Buy America requirements, which housing advocates say can increase costs and slow projects in remote areas.
Soto said the new Senate amendments reflect growing recognition that tribal housing must be included in any major federal housing overhaul.
“There’s a lot of things we wanted to see for Native American housing that were left out,” Soto said. “This is our chance to make those changes we need. We're really hoping that the committees of jurisdiction (for this legislation) will take a closer and harder look at what our champions are asking for.”
