Nebraska’s congressional delegation voted in both houses of Congress to support a bipartisan bill that would increase the housing supply across the United States, but President Donald Trump has said he's not signing it.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the House 358-32 on Tuesday — a day after the Senate approved it 85-5. It aims to increase housing supply by streamlining construction regulations, limiting corporate investors from buying large numbers of single-family homes, and incentivizing local governments to build more housing.
In two Truth Social posts Wednesday morning, Trump cancelled the planned signing and called the housing bill "of minor importance," saying it "pales in comparison to passing the SAVE America Act," which he called a "National Emergency." The SAVE America Act would require potential voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections.
Voting advocates have opposed the legislation, saying it could make it harder to vote for millions of people. Studies have shown it’s very rare for undocumented people to vote in U.S. elections. It has passed the House but has not cleared the Senate.
Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts led or co-sponsored seven provisions in the housing bill, all aimed at expanding housing access and lowering costs for working families, veterans and rural Nebraskans. On a weekly press call Wednesday, Ricketts said he disagrees with Trump's decision to not sign the bill and urged him to reconsider.
"I would advise the president to take the win," Ricketts said. "This housing bill will help reduce housing costs ... if I was advising the president, I'd tell him, take the win. Talk about it. It's a good bill."
Ricketts said he has voted for the SAVE America Act several times and supports the voter ID measure, but said Trump should sign the housing bill regardless.
Ricketts noted that Trump has 10 days to act before the bill becomes law automatically.
"Once the House submits the bill to the president, he'll have ten days to sign the bill. If he doesn't sign the bill, it will become law, and we'll see where it goes from there," Ricketts said.
Ricketts was also asked whether he would support a veto override if Trump rejects the bill.
"Let's take that one step at a time," he said. "But I would note that the bill passed by wide margins of both the House and Senate."
Second District Congressman Don Bacon, who did not respond to Nebraska Public Media's request for comment, told CBS News Trump's criticism was "strange."
"He strongly endorsed the housing bill a month ago, so the criticisms now are strange. We made the Senate bill better than when he endorsed it," Bacon said.
First District Congressman Mike Flood, who chairs the House Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, said the bill includes several provisions he introduced, calling it "a game changer" following final passage Tuesday. Flood has been actively touting the legislation for weeks. At his Norfolk town hall in May, he told roughly 200 constituents the bill would reduce the cost of manufactured homes by up to 30%, saving buyers at least $25,000, and framed it as proof of his ability to work across the aisle.
"You sent me to Washington to fix problems, to work with people and to do it in a bipartisan way," Flood said at the time. "I can tell you with my work on housing, we are going to bring the price of housing down."
Nebraska Public Media reached out to Flood, Sen. Deb Fischer, Third District Congressman Adrian Smith and the Nebraska Democratic Party for comment. None had responded at the time of publication.