SE Nebraska News

U.S. Congressman Mike Flood spoke today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, addressing concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris's housing plan. In his remarks, Flood argued that the proposed policies would exacerbate existing housing issues rather than resolve them.

"Housing is less affordable and less available today and it’s bringing costs onto the American people," Flood stated. He cited statistics indicating that housing underproduction costs the U.S. economy over $1.6 trillion annually in lost wages and productivity.

Flood noted that the country needs to build 4.3 million more apartments by 2035 to meet rental housing demand, including 600,000 units to address shortages dating back to the 2008 financial crisis. He added that between 2015 and 2020, there was a decline of 4.7 million affordable apartments due to underproduction.

He warned that "Vice President Kamala Harris’s plans would make the problem much, much worse." Specifically, he criticized Harris's proposal for downpayment assistance for homebuyers, arguing it would increase demand and drive prices higher instead of lowering costs.

Flood explained: "More government subsidies won’t bring housing costs down. They will continue to increase demand and drive prices even higher." He described a scenario where young couples saving for a home could find themselves further from their goal due to rising prices spurred by these subsidies.

Regarding rent caps proposed by the Biden-Harris Administration on "corporate landlords," Flood asserted these measures have historically exacerbated housing shortages by discouraging developers from building new rental units in high-demand areas.

"Rent caps are a failed policy with a long track record of exacerbating housing shortages," he said, citing examples from New York City and San Francisco where such policies led to more rental units being abandoned than built during certain periods.

Summarizing his critique, Flood said: "The Harris plan would implement an expensive downpayment assistance subsidy...and limit supply – the exact wrong combination of policies if you want housing costs to go down."

In conclusion, Flood called for solutions encouraging private investment in new development as a means to boost housing supply and reduce inflationary pressures associated with current federal policies.

"Until we move towards solutions that encourage private investment in new development, we can expect that our country’s housing shortage will persist," he concluded.