Quick Answer
The US Senate is working two major financial bills in parallel. The first is a housing affordability package built around expanding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, tightening tax treatment for institutional single family buyers, and creating federal grants for municipalities that loosen restrictive zoning.
The second is the CBDC Anti Surveillance State Act, which would statutorily bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a consumer facing central bank digital currency or running a retail digital dollar pilot without explicit authorization from Congress.
What the housing affordability bill actually changes
Mortgage rates are still high relative to the pre 2022 baseline, supply is constrained in most major metros, and first time buyers are losing competitive bids to all cash institutional offers. The bill responds to all three of those pressures simultaneously.
The largest line item is an expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). State allocations would rise meaningfully, with a specific carve out for projects in high cost coastal markets where the existing credit has not been enough to make new affordable construction pencil out. The Joint Committee on Taxation has previously estimated that even a modest LIHTC expansion can support several hundred thousand additional affordable units over a decade.
Institutional investor curbs
A separate section targets corporate and private equity buyers of single family homes. The mechanism is tax: deductions for depreciation and mortgage interest would be limited or denied entirely for entities holding more than a threshold number of single family units. The bill does not ban institutional ownership outright, but it removes much of the tax advantage that has made bulk purchases attractive.
Zoning grants
Federal money is offered as a carrot to municipalities that update zoning to allow more multi family construction, accessory dwelling units, and mixed use development near transit. Local zoning remains a local decision, but cities and counties that opt in receive infrastructure grants tied to permitting reform.
The CBDC Anti Surveillance State Act
The second bill is narrower but more controversial. It would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail central bank digital currency directly to consumers, from holding accounts for individuals, and from running any pilot of a retail digital dollar without explicit statutory authorization from Congress.
Supporters argue that a Fed issued retail digital dollar would create a single ledger of every consumer transaction, which they view as an unacceptable surveillance and financial control risk. They point to design choices in other jurisdictions where central bank digital currencies have been paired with expiry dates or category restrictions on spending.
Opponents argue that the bill goes too far. Wholesale Fed digital dollars used between banks for interbank settlement would also be constrained, which some economists worry could put the US behind on payment system modernization relative to peers in the European Union and Asia.
Comparing the two bills
- Housing bill: in committee, broad bipartisan elements, primary friction is over the cost of the LIHTC expansion and the federal role in local zoning.
- CBDC bill: awaiting a full floor vote, partisan friction is over whether the language reaches wholesale as well as retail digital dollar work.
What this means for consumers
The housing bill, if passed in something close to its current form, would slowly increase the supply of affordable rental units and make it less attractive for institutional buyers to dominate single family bidding in starter home markets. Effects on prices would be gradual, measured in years, not quarters.
The CBDC bill is more abstract for most consumers. It would not change how Venmo, Zelle, or your bank app works. What it would do is permanently close off the option of the Federal Reserve issuing its own consumer wallet unless Congress later changes its mind.
Related coverage
For more on broader US fiscal and political stories shaping 2026 see the federal ruling blocking the centralized citizenship database and the upcoming ACA coverage changes for 2026.
The takeaway
One bill tries to tilt the housing market back toward owner occupiers and renters by reshaping tax incentives. The other tries to fence off a future where the central bank can see and potentially restrict every personal transaction. Together they reflect the two financial anxieties shaping US politics this year: that housing has become unaffordable, and that the digital financial system is becoming too easy to surveil.
Frequently asked questions
Would the housing bill lower mortgage rates?
No. Mortgage rates are set by the broader bond market and Federal Reserve policy. The bill affects supply and the tax treatment of institutional buyers.
Does the CBDC bill ban Bitcoin or stablecoins?
No. It only restricts the Federal Reserve from issuing its own retail digital currency. Private cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are governed by separate legislation.
Is a Fed digital dollar currently in development?
The Federal Reserve has conducted research and limited wholesale pilots. There is no operational retail digital dollar today.
How the LIHTC expansion would actually scale supply
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit has been the workhorse of US affordable housing policy since 1986. It does not directly subsidize tenants. Instead it gives private developers a tax credit that they sell to corporate investors, with the proceeds funding the construction of buildings that must be rented below market rate to qualifying households for at least 30 years.
The mechanism is slow but durable. A LIHTC expansion in 2026 would not produce units in 2026. The credits get allocated, projects get designed and financed, construction starts in 2027 or 2028, and tenants move in around 2029. That is why supply side housing policy is always a multi year story, and why it tends to be unsatisfying as a short term political pitch.
Who actually issues a CBDC if not the Fed
One useful clarification on the CBDC bill: the term central bank digital currency is sometimes confused with stablecoins like USDC or PYUSD. Those are privately issued tokens backed by reserves at commercial banks. The Anti Surveillance State Act does not regulate those. Stablecoin oversight runs through separate legislation that is also moving through Congress this session, focused on reserve audits and issuer licensing rather than on issuance bans.
