President Donald Trump stalled the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which cleared both chambers of Congress with overwhelming support and included US Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) Whole Home Repairs Act and the Housing Supply Framework Act, in an effort to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE Act.
The president was scheduled to sign the bill Wednesday afternoon but abruptly cancelled the event, catching Republican leaders by surprise. He said he would not sign the legislation until the SAVE Act is passed.
Trump has been pushing for passage of the SAVE Act, which would disenfranchise possibly tens of millions of Americans from voting by requiring them to provide a passport or birth certificate when registering to vote and would effectively eliminate mail and online voter registration, but those in Pennsylvania remain optimistic about the Whole Home Repairs Program becoming law with or without Trump’s signature.
“ We believe that there is immense support for this set of bills demonstrated by the immense support that’s given by all of these legislators, […] the thousands and thousands of people who advocated for these programs, and […] the millions of people that these bills would help,” State Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) said at a press conference in Harrisburg on Wednesday.
The Whole Home Repairs program, which allows low-income residents and landlords to weatherize and upgrade their homes, got its start in Pennsylvania when Saval and then-State Rep. Sara Innamorato (D-Allegheny) secured $125 million in the 2022 state budget.
According to a 2024 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, at least 6.7 million Americans live in homes with serious deficiencies. These deficiencies include large holes in floors or roofs, exposed or peeling lead-based paint, persistent water leaks, mold, and more.
“We allocated $125 million for a first-of-its-kind program to repair people’s homes,” Innamorato said in an interview.
She added, “If we want to talk about addressing the housing crisis, we also need to support the systems, the housing stock that we have here, and the people that live in those homes.”
After Whole Home Repairs launched in Pennsylvania, applications from homeowners and landlords far exceeded the amount of grants available in most counties. Allegheny County had over 2,600 applicants in June 2023 but awarded only 250 grants.
“ Hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania are living in homes that are unsafe because they can’t afford repairs. Across the country, this number jumps up into the millions,” Saval said.
“Four years ago, members of the General Assembly in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle came together and did something extraordinary. We created a program that allowed residents to repair, upgrade, and weatherize their homes, and that created new, good-paying jobs for our communities.”
Trump will have 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto the bill, starting from when it is officially sent to the White House. If he takes no action while Congress remains in session, it will become law without his signature. Congress can also potentially override his veto.
Eligible participants would include renters who spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent and have no more than 80% of their region’s median income, as well as homeowners whose household income is not more than 80% of the area median income.
The federal version would fund repairs and modifications for older adults and those living with disabilities, weatherization improvements, energy and water efficiency, and upgrades that make a housing habitable.
“ Over the past year, dozens of legislators and thousands of people across the country have strategized, organized, and advocated for the national adoption of this program, knowing its importance for their constituents, their neighbors, and their communities,” Saval said.
“I was hoping that today would be a day of celebration. Our commonwealth laid a blueprint for transformative action at the federal level, with effects that would ripple out for decades to come.”
