Tuberville, Britt at odds over housing bill

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June 30, 2026

Today in Alabama history: On June 30, 1928 convict leasing was officially outlawed in Alabama and the last group of men was transferred from mines to the Atmore Prison Farm.

Something to think about

After six years of living in Alabama, I finally visited Orange Beach this weekend. It was lovely.

Congress is on the cusp of doing something that's pretty rare these days -- passing bipartisan legislation that could actually help individual Americans.

Sen. Katie Britt worked on and voted for the legislation, which, as of Monday, is still awaiting the president’s signature after he abruptly stalled its passage. Sen. Tommy Tuberville voted against the legislation.

Britt and Tuberville appear to have a substantive dispute over the legislation -- he doesn't want to continue or expand the mandate of the Department of Housing and Urband Development.

But, when I asked about his vote, Tuberville also suggested that the bill would help people who are in the United States illegally. When asked how, he didn't provide any specifics.

That prompted a comment from Britt, who generally seems to try to publicly smooth out issues with her delegation.

The package “appropriates zero dollars and maintains that illegal aliens are not eligible for HUD housing assistance,” Britt told AL.com.

Would the bill actually help the housing crisis?

The housing bill is a key part of congressional and White House efforts to address affordability. It pulls together a lot of different adjustments to manufacturing, regulations and financing. I have been reading different analyses about whether it will actually make housing cheaper for individual Americans.

In Alabama, as in most of the country, it seems to be -- it depends. It should be cheaper to buy a mobile home. It might get a little faster to build a new house. And it might become a little quicker for low-income renters and buyers to get help finding affordable units or getting support making needed upgrades.

Thanks for your book and TV recommendations last week! I picked up "Yesteryear" and just bought tickets to see the new "Odyssey" movie at Sidewalk Cinema in Birmingham.

QUICKLINKS 🔗

Top Politics Stories

Catch up on recent stories from AL.com.

👨‍👧‍👦 Pete Buttigieg's children were removed over false Alabama crime reports in a troubling case.

🦈 Trump just signed legislation to establish a nationwide shark attack alert system, named Lulu's Law.

🏛️ Fear spreads through Alabama's Haitian community after Supreme Court strips protected status for thousands.

🤖 Alabama lawmakers wrestle with protecting kids from AI chatbots — despite their resistance to new regulations. (The Alabama Reflector)

💼 A key Alabama economic leader is retiring after 33 years — his work added billions to the state

POLL 🗣💬

What's Your Take?

Alabama could owe up to $200 million because of its recent SNAP error rate. What do you think the state should do?

Invest in fixing the administrative errors causing the high rate

Use AI and technology to detect fraud and reduce errors

Push back on the federal government. States shouldn't foot this bill

Cut SNAP enrollment so there's less to get wrong

I'm not sure

Your responses are kept completely confidential and are not shared with any third-party.

Poll results from last week

Do you think President Trump's endorsements made a difference in this year's elections?

33.3% I didn't pay attention to endorsements at all.

25.0% Yes, Trump's endorsement helped me choose who not to vote for.

25.0% No, I voted for candidates based on other factors.

16.7% Yes, Trump's endorsement helped me choose who to vote for.

Respondents:

Have a tip for a reporter?

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From D.C.: Confirmations

Republicans in the Senate want to push through more confirmations while they have control of the chamber -- but President Donald Trump isn't sending them enough names.

According to a tracker built by The Washington Post, an estimated 268 federal positions have no Trump nominee.

“We’re running short on time,” Tommy Tuberville told POLITICO. “We’d love to get at least one or two of them and get it in the next tranche."

Sen. Chuck Grassley told POLITICO his committee members need to work harder to be present for votes in order to move names forward.

Several Alabama figures have recently been appointed to federal judge seats, including Eddie LaCour.

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See you right back here next Tuesday!

Thanks,

Ruth

Ruth Serven Smith is a senior managing producer at AL.com who leads community engagement and audience development initiatives. She moved to Birmingham in 2020 and is originally from Oklahoma.

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Tuberville, Britt at odds over housing bill

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