Yesterday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, delivered the following statement during a full Committee hearing entitled, “Building Capacity: Reducing Government Roadblocks to Housing Supply.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The cost of living is skyrocketing, and working-class families are struggling to pay their rent and mortgages. And what is Donald Trump doing to solve this crisis? Raising housing costs. He’s imposing tariffs on lumber and other building materials; gutting the key civil right protections meant to end housing discrimination; and unleashing masked ICE agents on American cities, wreaking havoc on families and communities and fueling labor shortages at places like home construction sites.
And now Trump wants to gut permanent supportive housing funding, which would force 170,000 people back onto the streets – a move that will significantly harm people with disabilities, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, and women with children.
Mr. Chairman, I don’t have to tell you how severe the housing crisis has become. As it stands, nearly 800 thousand people are experiencing homelessness, and most American families use the bulk of their paycheck for their rent or mortgage.
This is a serious problem and requires serious solutions. FHFA Director Bill Pulte, who spends more time launching baseless political witch hunts than solving the housing crisis, have proposed a 50-year mortgage. This is the most preposterous housing policy anyone has ever come up with. What’s the next brilliant idea? A 100 year-mortgage? We shouldn’t expect any progress on the housing crisis when the people in charge are unserious and out of their depth.
Committee Democrats are serious about solving this crisis. Right after the Administration proposed gutting funding for permanent supportive housing, I demanded HUD Secretary Scott Turner to reverse the decision in a letter that I led with 52 other House Democrats. At the same time, my Democratic colleagues and I in the House and Senate have worked in a bipartisan manner to get the ROAD to Housing bill included in the NDAA – a commonsense legislative package that would chip away at the crisis. While we all worked in good faith to reach a deal, I know there have been some concerns, and Mr. Hill, I know that some of your concerns are my concerns and I know that you walked away from the negotiations. While I’m disappointed in that decision, I’m encouraged that you want to work with me and Committee Democrats to finally get something done on housing. What you just said this morning is very encouraging. And so, I’m looking forward to working with you to solve the problem we all know exists.
We must move quickly because while Congress bickers, rents are still going up, home prices are still rising, and mortgage rates are still too high. I also encourage my friends on the opposite side of the aisle to not play around the margins of housing policy. Let’s go big. While ROAD is an important and incremental step, we need serious and substantial government intervention to build the housing units needed to end this crisis. The private sector can’t do it alone and certainly won’t build housing for our lowest income families. So, we have to be bold with this, and my housing package is just that. It is the single largest and most comprehensive investment in affordable housing in U.S. history and will finally tackle the affordable housing crisis, end homelessness, and eliminate the racial wealth and homeownership gaps.
I look forward to today’s conversation and working with my colleagues to get a bipartisan housing bill passed into law. It’s going to cost some money, please don’t start telling me we’re going to do it without paying for it. We got to pay for it..
I yield back.”
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