National Urban League CEO Marc H. Morial sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance urging Congress to strengthen and fully fund the ROAD to Housing Act within the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The organization frames housing affordability as both an economic and civil rights crisis, citing rents that have far outpaced wages and homeownership rates that continue to decline.

The letter demands sustained and increased HUD funding for FY2026, expansion of deeply affordable housing and Housing Choice Vouchers, and a pathway for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to exit conservatorship with revenues directed to a national Housing Trust Fund. Morial also calls for large-scale public-private partnerships to accelerate development nationwide.

Morial points to the National Urban League's own 17-story, 100% affordable housing project in Harlem as evidence that federal leadership combined with private investment and nonprofit execution can deliver results. The project demonstrates a replicable model for mixed-income communities.

With shelter costs consuming a growing share of household income, the ROAD to Housing Act represents the most comprehensive legislative vehicle in years. Congress's willingness to fund and enforce it will determine whether the U.S. can reverse a decade of supply constraints and speculative pressure on housing costs.