For nearly two decades, Compass has been working toward a day when the opportunity to build assets and wealth are the norm for families in affordable housing — not the exception. For the past three years, we have been actively calling on our government to join us in that fight.

Yesterday, Congress answered!

The Helping More Families Save Act has officially passed both chambers of Congress as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — sweeping bipartisan housing legislation that includes a provision Compass moved forward over nearly a decade of advocacy. The Helping More Families Save Act, Sec. 404 of the housing package, expands access to the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS), a savings program for families living in federally subsidized housing.

We are just one signature away from default access to FSS for thousands of American families.

What this law does

The Helping More Families Save (HMFS) Act creates a large-scale, multi-year national demonstration of a savings model that Compass has been building and refining since 2016. Additional provisions in the bill draw straight from learnings in our direct service portfolio, including default ‘opt-out’ enrollment, protection for increases in earned income, streamlined graduation requirements, and flexible recertification.

The core value proposition of HMFS is the designation of "escrow allocations" by the Office of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to up to 25 eligible entities — public housing agencies and private owners of project-based rental assistance units — to establish and manage escrow savings accounts for up to 5,000 HUD-assisted households. Eligible entities create interest-bearing escrow accounts for families. Any rent increase resulting from a family's increased earned income is deposited into that account — meaning income gains build savings rather than simply increasing rent burden.

The demonstration operates across multiple sites nationwide over the next several years, providing robust data on the opt-out model in diverse housing markets and communities to drive future national policy decisions.

Recognizing Champions

We are deeply grateful to the legislators who championed this bill from the start: Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), who led the Senate effort, and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), who led in the House. We also thank Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, House Financial Services Chair French Hill and Ranking Member Maxine Waters for their leadership on the broader housing package that made this possible, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) for her championship of FSS and support of Compass over the years.

A special thanks to Jeff Lubell and Reid Cramer, original thought partners and champions of the opt-out model for asset-building during their times at the Center for Housing Policy and New America Foundation, respectively.

We would also like to thank the long list of Bipartisan Champions in both chambers. 

Senate:

• Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) — Senate Banking Committee Chairman; lead Senate sponsor of the ROAD to Housing Act
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member; co-lead Senate sponsor
• Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) — Lead Senate sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act across multiple Congresses
• Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) — Republican co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act; key voice for the bill's bipartisan credibility
• Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Sen. James Risch (R-ID) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) — Champion of provisions included in the final bill

House:

• Rep. French Hill (R-AR-2) — Lead House sponsor of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
• Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) — Ranking Member sponsor of full package
• Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) — House lead sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act (H.R.4385)
• Rep. William Timmons (R-SC)
• Republican House co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) — Congressional champion for FSS and asset-building; attended Compass's policy forum
• Rep. Zachary Nunn (R-IA-3) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL-7) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Rep. Cleo Fields (D-LA-6) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA-5) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act
• Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA-6) — Co-sponsor of the Helping More Families Save Act

Compass has also gained broad support and endorsement from key stakeholders in the housing and economic mobility field for the HMFS Act, including:

Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership (BRHP)
Bipartisan Policy Center — Action
Boston Housing Authority (BHA)
The Caleb Group
Connected Communities — WinnCompanies
Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA)
The Community Builders
Enterprise Community Partners
Housing Partnership Network (HPN)
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Mercy Housing National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA)
National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)
National Association of REALTORS® 
National Housing & Rehabilitation Association
National Housing Conference
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
National Leased Housing Association (NLHA)
National NeighborWorks Association
Piedmont Housing
Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH)
RIHousing
Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF)

What Comes Next

Passing through Congress is just the beginning. Making the opportunity to build savings truly the norm — for all families in affordable housing — will require strong federal implementation, rigorous evaluation, and continued advocacy. Compass will be there. We hope you'll stay with us.