![]() Next month with Congressmen Panetta and Blumenauer, I will propose a $15,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit for lower income Americans - refundable, advanceable and available for homebuyers at the time of purchase. Over these next few months, I will be introducing bills to make housing more affordable for lower-income Americans. Our appropriations support housing programs like the HOME Investment Partnerships, Community Development Block Grants, and Housing Choice Vouchers. Under President Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan, more new apartments were under construction in 2023 than in any year on record. Over $14 billion of the Rescue Plan’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds have already gone towards expanding housing supply, investing in homeless services, and providing 3.7 million additional households with rent, mortgage, and utility relief. The American Rescue Plan kept people housed during the worst of the pandemic recession and laid the foundation for jumpstarting new construction. The Biden-Harris Administration has taken sweeping new steps to increase the housing supply, protect renters, and ease cost burdens. We can and must take action to ensure housing is safe and affordable for all. Today, there is not a state, metropolitan area, or county where a worker earning the local minimum wage at 40 hours a week can afford a modest two-bedroom rental at HUD’s Fair Market Rate standard.Īs a nation, we have underinvested in housing it’s created a harmful situation for millions of families, and it is a significant drag on our economy. It’s not red state versus blue state, not urban versus rural Americans in all 50 states struggle with higher housing costs. Helping families have a safe, stable place to call home should not be controversial. Investing in our nation’s housing infrastructure would provide relief to millions of Americans and drive economic growth, particularly in local economies. High housing costs reduce disposable income and economic mobility, stifling economic opportunities. Nationwide, the shortage of affordable housing opportunities costs the American economy an estimated $2 trillion each year. A lack of available housing reduces local tax revenue, reducing local resources for education, public safety, and infrastructure. It can force businesses to relocate, taking job opportunities with them. Unaffordable housing decreases job retention and lowers productivity. I’ve heard from young people around Rhode Island about the importance of affordable housing, and I intend to do something about it. The squeeze is bad for our entire economy, it’s bad for income inequality, it’s bad for families, and it’s particularly bad for young people. According to Zillow, the Providence area experienced the largest year over year rent increase in the country last year – a 7.5% increase. In Rhode Island, there are currently no communities where families earning the state’s median income can afford to buy a typical home, and there’s only one town where Rhode Islanders earning the state’s median income can affordably rent. faces a shortage of four to seven million housing units available for sale or rent. New research finds that half of all renters in the United States spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, more than at any other time in history.Īcross the country, the U.S. That’s created a shortage of rental units, driving up the cost of rent. With fewer people able to purchase homes, more people rent. ![]() And today, the typical age of a first-time homebuyer has reached a record high of 36, up from 29 in 1981. The National Association of Realtors finds that first-time homebuyers made up just 26% of homebuyers in 2022 compared to 38% in 1981. Owning a home, once seen as a foundational piece of the American dream, is further out of reach for more Americans now than ever before. Now, housing is taking up a larger share of household budgets, and low- and middle-income families are being priced out of the market. Even as demand recovered, supply continued to lag. It is a market failure many years in the making, and the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic made it worse.Īfter the housing market collapsed in 2008, new housing supply for single- and multi-unit buildings declined. This morning, we’ll discuss how investments in expanding housing affordability can drive economic growth.įor decades, the United States has faced a housing affordability problem. Senate Budget Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing, titled “A Blueprint for Prosperity: Expanding Housing Affordability.”Ĭhairman Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the U.S. 01.31.24 WHITEHOUSE: Expanding Housing Affordability Drives Economic Growth “Over these next few months, I will be introducing bills to make housing more affordable for lower-income Americans.”
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