September 08, 2025

New Dem Housing Task Force Releases Affordability Agenda to Build More Homes and Lower Costs

Today, the New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force, led by Task Force Chair Emilia Sykes (OH-13), unveiled its Housing Affordability Agenda, which lays out a path forward for bipartisan legislation in Congress to ensure every American has access to safe, decent, affordable housing and the amenities they need to thrive.

Through the Housing Affordability Agenda, the Coalition endorses fourteen bills led by New Dem members that aim to lower housing costs by increasing the supply of housing, growing the number of innovative financial products available to buyers and renters, and improving housing data and transparency to ensure resources are dedicated to the areas of highest need.

“At a time when the cost of living is already too high, so many families in Ohio and across the country are struggling to afford high-quality, safe, and affordable housing – and losing hope in their ability to achieve the American dream,” said Housing Task Force Chair Emilia Sykes. “Congress can and must take concrete steps to build more homes and make it easier for working families to live and thrive in their communities. I’m proud of the work my New Dem colleagues have done to offer innovative legislation to address this critical problem. Through the bills endorsed in this Agenda, we are moving the ball forward and working to advance real solutions that deliver for the American people.”

The Housing Affordability Agenda builds on the Coalition’s work over the past several years to tackle the ongoing housing crisis, including the 2024 Housing Action Plan, 2023 Economic Opportunity Agenda, and 2022 Action Plan to Fight Inflation. The fourteen endorsed bills fall under three guiding principles, including building more homes and getting them to the market quicker, making it easier for consumers to buy and rent homes, and improving federal data collection and transparency.

The Agenda also lays out next steps to advance legislative solutions through Congress, including plans to develop legislative proposals that increase the supply of manufactured housing, address red tape associated with environmental review, and lowering the price of materials impacted by tariffs and supply chain barriers.

You can read the full New Dem Housing Affordability Agenda here and below:

Introduction

As housing prices grow in communities across the country, affordability has become the defining challenge of today’s housing landscape. Making housing cheaper and more available is one of the most fundamental economic issues that Congress needs to confront in order to ensure American competitiveness and the survival of the American dream. New Dems has consistently advocated for smart solutions to make communities where everyone has access to safe, decent, affordable housing and the amenities needed to thrive.

Our 2018 Missing Millions of Homes Report, 20 for 2020 Policy Agenda, 2021 Infrastructure Priorities, 2022 Action Plan to Fight Inflation, 2023 Economic Opportunity Agenda, and 2024 Housing Action Plan have steadily showcased New Dems’ thought leadership on housing and proposed solutions to address the housing crisis. In keeping with New Dems’ leadership on housing affordability, the Coalition endorses the following bills and ideas to build more housing and lower the cost to own or rent a home.

New Dem Principles

  • Build more homes and get them on the market fast
    • Quickly increase supply where there is greatest demand;
    • Incentivize the sale of homes so they don’t sit vacant for months; and
    • Make it easier to redevelop or rehabilitate housing stock.
  • Make it easier to buy or rent a home
    • Improve mortgage products so buyers can access lower rates; and
    • Examine the drivers of insurance risk to address root causes and lower costs;
  • Improve housing data and transparency so we can surge resources where needed
    • Collect data across the federal government to see where people are being displaced from evictions, foreclosures, and disasters; and
    • Enhance data on insurance so there is greater transparency on rate changes.

Policy Priorities

Build more homes and get them on the market fast to meet housing demand and fill the gap of millions of missing homes. Federal policy should lower barriers, incentivize housing development, and position the federal government as a partner in land use.

Make it easier to buy or rent a home by increasing the number of units on the market through innovative financial products. This should include incentives and new financing for more housing, preventing consolidation of housing into the hands of investors over families, and strengthening federal support of housing finance.

Improve housing data and transparency so we can surge resources where needed by improving federal data collection efforts, supporting transparency measures so consumers can make informed decisions, and helping to improve record-keeping of land titles.

Next Steps

The New Democrat Coalition looks forward to engaging in discussions on related topics including increasing the supply of homes and supporting consumers to make sure they can afford a home. We also look forward to developing legislative proposals on specific issues such as removing the HUD chassis rule on manufactured housing, exempting some housing projects from environmental review, and removing tariffs and other supply chain barriers for housing inputs like lumber and certain metal products.

--->