The U.S. Senate passed a major housing package that includes legislation from Sen. John Kennedy aimed at incentivizing new home construction by tying federal funding to cities' rates of homebuilding.
Kennedy's Build Now Act is included in the larger 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The bill now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives before it can reach the president's desk.
The Build Now Act would adjust how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes Community Development Block Grant Program funds. Currently, HUD provides annual grants to states, cities, and counties regardless of their rate of homebuilding.
Under Kennedy's bill, HUD would be required to remove 10% of CDBG funding from cities that fall below the national median housing growth improvement rate. Those funds would then be proportionally reallocated to cities that exceeded the national median housing growth rate, with cities posting the highest growth rates receiving larger shares.
The bill would also exempt metropolitan areas from CDBG readjustments where the median home value is below the national median, or for cities that issued an emergency disaster declaration in the last year.
"The Senate's passage of my Build Now Act marks a significant step toward making the American Dream of homeownership achievable again for young families. For too long, red tape has stalled home construction and driven up housing prices. My bill rewards communities that actually build homes rather than block them. I look forward to seeing it become law and get our communities building again," Kennedy said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Kennedy in introducing the Build Now Act.
"Americans are suffering under sky-high housing prices caused by a worsening housing shortage. The Senate passed landmark legislation to lower housing costs, including a bill that I introduced with Senator Kennedy to reward communities that are taking bold action to build more housing. It's time for the House to pass the 21st Century Road to Housing Act," Warren said.
Kennedy has been vocal on housing affordability for more than a year. At a Senate Banking Committee markup in July 2025, he pointed to rising homebuyer ages as evidence of a growing crisis.
"Senator Warren and I have a provision in this bill that would, I think, help generate housing in America. The most stunning statistic to me is the fact that the median age of a … first-time homeowner in America today is 38. Wow. That's almost 40 [years old] before you can afford a home. … We've got a problem," Kennedy said.
In January 2026, Kennedy delivered a Senate floor speech urging passage of the Build Now Act, arguing that "[t]his bill will lower the cost of housing in America, and it will do it under basic principles of free enterprise."
