You may have missed this when it happened, in part because President Trump threw a hissy fit and refused to sign the bill, but the new 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has some interesting provisions focused on how to better house an aging nation. The bipartisan bill became law on July 11 without the President’s signature because, as all you constitutional fanboys and fangirls already know, Article 1 of the Constitution provides for “pocket approval”: a bill becomes a law if the President does nothing during the ten days after it is forwarded to him so long as Congress is in session.

The new law directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study the barriers facing older adults, people with disabilities, and middle-income households in accessing affordable housing — a step toward quantifying a problem that's mostly been discussed anecdotally. More immediately useful, the ROAD Act also creates a HUD pilot program funding minor home repairs and modifications, such as grab bars, ramps, and the like. The program is aimed at supporting people who want to age in place but need to make small modifications to their homes for that purpose.

And finally the law expands financing for accessory dwelling units, commonly known as "granny flats." The bill widens the financing options available for building these units, with the hope that this will give older adults more affordable housing options close to family.

As usual, the crack production team at the Century Lives podcast is ahead of the curve. Season 9, which came out earlier this year, is a deep dive into the housing challenges of an aging nation. Particularly relevant today is the episode on the CAPABLE program. Founded by researchers from Johns Hopkins, the program provides small dollar home improvement support like a grab bar, a robotic vacuum or a tacked down rug, on the belief that these types of modest investments may be the difference between successful aging in place and the need to move to a less desired, and more expensive, congregate care facility. The evidence supporting the CAPABLE program is strong, but maintaining adequate funding for the program has been difficult, at least until now. Check out our episode here and information on CAPABLE here.