Home California Rep. DeSaulnier Announces Introduction of Legislation to Provide Innovative Solutions to Address America’s Housing Crisis

Rep. DeSaulnier Announces Introduction of Legislation to Provide Innovative Solutions to Address America’s Housing Crisis

by ECT
Rep Mark DeSaulnier

Washington, DC — Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) announced the introduction of a bill to holistically address America’s housing crisis by incentivizing innovation and community-specific solutions. The Housing Innovation Act (H.R. 7054) would create a new Office of Housing Innovation at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist local governments in increasing and diversifying the housing supply, and creates grants to help communities plan for new housing.

“The high cost of living, especially in the Bay Area, has forced families to move further and further away from their workplace. The resulting ‘super-commutes’ have left people spending more time in traffic than with their families,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “The Housing Innovation Act helps incentivize communities to develop innovative solutions to the housing crisis.”

Since 1960, renters’ median earnings have increased by only five percent while rents have spiked 61 percent. At the same time, while homeowners earn 50 percent more than in 1960, home prices have skyrocketed by 112 percent. In the Bay Area, the average rent reached more than $2,500 in 2016, and approximately half of renters were severely cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.

Under this bill, the new Office of Housing Innovation will administer three types of grants:

  • Developing Local Housing Plans: For local housing plans that expand and diversify the housing supply, improve affordability, and reduce congestion.
  • Furthering Research and Pilot Projects: For research and pilot projects led by partnerships involving at least one government, university, or nonprofit organization to explore improving the “first mile” and “last mile” commuting experience, housing college students, facilitating home sharing for elderly residents, integrating business and commercial activity with residential neighborhoods, and studying modular building techniques or other approaches to reducing housing costs.
  • Improving Public Discussion: Grants for education activities to fund partnerships with at least one academic institution to further public discussion and education on housing and community development.

Congressman DeSaulnier first introduced the Housing Innovation Act in October of 2018.

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3 comments

Jg Nov 27, 2019 - 9:33 am

Ya Mark, That’s all We need is another new government department to offer free stuff.
Government is already to big and dysfunctional. The more government the more taxes and the more government runs your life. How about a solution to high taxes and high gas prices? Now that would be productive for us working people.

MEV Dec 3, 2019 - 1:11 am

What a bunch of useless bull accomplishing nothing. Another study for an innovative solution that is obvious. Can’t we get rid of this dude? How does he keep getting re-elected? Sure he isn’t secretly masquerading as a BART Board of Director on the side?

Dahlia Dec 3, 2019 - 10:57 pm

There is no housing crisis! Plenty of cheap housing available in North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, etc. Not everyone can live in the BAY AREA or California in general. People should live where they can AFFORD to live and there’s plenty of areas in the USA for that.

If the cost of housing has gone sky high in this area, then you can thanks Steve Jobs, Tim Cook and others who brought the tech industry here. It was affordable before these people took over the state.

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