Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, addressed the committee's first hearing on housing. The focus was on the urgent need to reduce high housing costs through effective legislation. Senator Warren discussed her American Housing and Economic Mobility Act, which aims to construct nearly 3 million homes nationwide, cut rents by 10%, and encourage local governments to eliminate regulatory hurdles that increase costs.
In her opening remarks, Warren emphasized the severe shortage of approximately 5 million homes across the country. "We do not have enough housing. And nothing gets better if we don’t build more housing," she stated. She noted that forty years ago, a Boston Public School teacher could buy a house for about 4½ times their salary, whereas today it would require about eleven times their salary.
Warren expressed optimism about bipartisan efforts within the committee to tackle the housing crisis. She highlighted several bills sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans aimed at addressing various aspects of the issue:
- Senators Smith and Rounds' Rural Housing Service Reform Act seeks to protect and expand affordable housing in rural areas.
- Senators Warner and Crapo's Scaling Community Lenders Act focuses on increasing lending and investment in low-income communities.
- Senator Cortez Masto's PRICE Act targets upgrades for manufactured homes, alongside her Home Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act for financing new construction and repairs.
- Senators Van Hollen and Young propose the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act for providing safe housing access to families with young children.
- Senators Reed and Hagerty introduced the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act to safeguard personal information from predatory lenders.
- Senators Lummis and Fetterman's Whole-Home Repairs Act assists homeowners with essential home repairs.
- Senator Gallego's Housing Vouchers Fairness Act supports families in high-growth states with housing affordability.
- Senator Blunt Rochester's Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Housing Act aids state and local governments in updating zoning laws for affordable housing development.
- Senator Warnock’s Downpayment Toward Equity Act offers support for first-time homebuyers.
Warren also mentioned collaboration with Senators Warnock, Van Hollen, and Kim on her American Housing and Economic Mobility Act as a significant step toward building new affordable homes.
Additionally, Warren criticized recent actions by HUD Secretary Turner and Elon Musk’s DOGE program that have halted affordable housing projects nationwide. These measures include facilitating landlord discrimination against tenants based on disability or appearance while planning workforce reductions at HUD.
She concluded by stressing that these actions hinder rather than help families seeking housing solutions. "If the federal government is going to be a good partner to local communities to address the housing crisis," she said, "we need a well-resourced and well-staffed HUD."