The Moving to Work (MTW) Collaborative is encouraged by the bipartisan ROAD to Housing bill and its landmark effort to address the nation’s affordable housing challenges. The Collaborative also appreciates the inclusion of new MTW provisions in the bill. However, the MTW provisions as written overregulate and undermine the potential of MTW to support local housing ecosystems.
 

The MTW Demonstration was first authorized on the premise that public housing agencies (PHAs) and local stakeholders are best equipped to meet the needs of low-income households in their community. Through collective problem-solving, MTW empowers communities to develop plans and policies that preserve and increase affordable housing, improve resident wellbeing, and create pathways to opportunity and homeownership.
 

In the 30 years since its authorization, MTW has proven a resounding success, not only creating community-specific solutions to local affordable housing challenges but also pioneering powerful new approaches to housing assistance that have been adopted nationwide.
 

While the MTW Collaborative supports expanding the MTW toolbox to more PHAs, the proposed expansion in the ROAD to Housing bill offers a limited vision of MTW. Instead of empowering local communities, it runs contrary to the proven MTW approach by imposing excessive regulation and control over community decision-making that would stifle the very innovation and flexibility that have made the MTW program so successful.
 

While we applaud the bipartisan effort and support the goals of the ROAD to Housing, the MTW Collaborative strongly urges Congress not to adopt the MTW provisions as currently written. We are committed to continuing to uplift the core principles of the MTW program: local flexibility, community-driven solutions, and the proven success of empowering PHAs to meet the needs of their residents.
 

We look forward to engaging with lawmakers to ensure any expansion of MTW preserves the program's essential purpose and continues to foster the type of field-tested and performance-validated innovation that informs policy makers and strengthens affordable housing programs for low-income residents and communities nationwide.