Lowering Housing Costs and Advancing Main Street Community Banks
Floor Speech
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Mr. KENNEDY of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend from Florida, Mr. Haridopolos, for organizing this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Housing for the 21st Century Act. I support this because it is good policy, and I support it because my constituents want me to support this. But I also support it because my children and grandchildren deserve better than what we are currently delivering.
For example, I have a family member who has gone to medical school. This individual has taken out enormous amounts of debt to achieve that significant opportunity to become a doctor and currently is in that practice.
At the same time this individual has taken on the burden of a home mortgage, which in the State that this individual resides in is costing up to $500,000 for that individual to just buy a home and take on a mortgage. When added to the medical school debt, this individual in their early thirties is subject to a million dollars of debt.
In the State of Utah where I am from, the median home price is more than $500,000. In other States that many people are moving to you are looking at three to $500,000 just to buy a starter home.
These costs are unacceptable. They are multifactorial in how they have been driven, as well. The reality behind this--I am a doctor and most people around here know that in order to cure cancer there is not just one simple answer. When it comes to the unaffordability associated with housing costs, there is not just one answer there.
That is why I am so proud to support and have voted in favor of the Housing for the 21st Century Act. I call on my friends in the Senate to pass this along as well.
I thank Chairman French Hill for his leadership in confronting the housing affordability crisis with practical and progrowth reforms.
I also appreciate President Trump's leadership and his focus on making the American Dream attainable again for hardworking families.
President Trump is not serving for his own benefit. He is serving because he believes in the future of the United States of America. As we look to America 250 and the next 250 years of America's success, we need to focus on policies that are going to fulfill the American Dream, which homeownership is integral to.
The American Dream is getting more and more out of reach as housing costs continue to climb. While demand soars, the country remains stalled by a 5\1/2\ million unit shortfall.
Between the red tape of regulatory delays and the rigid constraints of zoning, the path to affordable living is being made more difficult to navigate, and it is American families who are paying the price.
As one of the fastest growing States in the Nation, this is a harsh reality for Utahns. We face one of the most expensive housing markets in the Nation, and too many families are being priced out of the American Dream.
The truth is simple. When the government makes it slow, expensive, and unpredictable to build houses, the costs get passed along to families.
This bill attacks that problem by reducing regulatory costs and delays that make housing more expensive in the first place.
It encourages zoning reform the right way. It respects local control and gives communities tools and flexibility to expand housing supply, rather than forcing one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington.
It expands opportunities for rural housing developments by ensuring rural communities aren't left behind and directing real attention and resources to rural housing needs. It strengthens accountability at HUD by demanding more transparency and more meaningful oversight, so taxpayers get results not bureaucracy.
Making the American Dream attainable requires us to make housing affordable again, and I appreciate President Trump and Chairman Hill for leading on reforms that prioritize supply, affordability, and accountability.
I thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Haridopolos, for organizing this Special Order hour.
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