Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced on June 3, 2026, a legislative version of recent regulatory efforts to allow work requirements in certain programs run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Called the Pathways to a Thriving Household (PATH) Act, the bill seeks to codify HUD’s proposed rule, which would give public housing authorities (PHAs) and HUD-assisted Multifamily Housing providers the authority to implement work requirements of up to 40 hours per week for “work-eligible adults.”

Similar to HUD’s proposed rule, the legislative stipulates that the work requirements cannot be applied to an individual who is 62 or older; however, the housing provider could implement work requirements on other household members who are younger than 62, and the legislation states that housing providers can terminate assistance for either the household member or the entire household when a household member is out of compliance. The work requirements would also impact members of the aging services workforce, who may have inconsistent hours or schedules.

The legislative effort seems to support the widely-held belief that HUD would need statutory authority prior to authorizing work requirements through the regulatory process, and contradict HUD statements about the existing legality of the proposed rulemaking.

LeadingAge strongly opposes work requirements in federal rental assistance due to the harm for households and because of the burden on housing providers, who would have to cover the costs of required job training and supportive services without additional budget authority.

Read the Senators’ press release here, and read LeadingAge’s comments opposing HUD’s proposed rule on work requirements here.