Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ‘Nothing Gets Better if We Don’t Build More Housing’
(Image by Anneliese Mahoney)
WASHINGTON–Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, took to the stage during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Advocacy Conference April 8, emphasizing the challenges of the housing industry in the U.S. and advocating for bipartisan work and creativity in solving those impediments.
Warren noted that by some estimates, we are facing a shortage of 5 million homes, and we need housing of all kinds and across all areas of the country. “Nothing gets better if we don’t build more housing in America,” she stated.
“Homeownership matters because it is the major way that middle class families in America build wealth,” she said. “Housing is deeply woven into the success of America’s families, but America is in the middle of a full-blown housing crisis.”
But, she said, she’s hopeful Congress will take bipartisan action this year to solve such issues.
“It is time for the federal government to be a good partner and play a bigger role in increasing housing supply across this country,” she said, but noted it “doesn’t have to be a one-size-fits-all approach.”
Warren listed a number of bills and efforts in Congress, including the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act, a bill Warren has sponsored along with Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Missouri.
“There are other solutions that we can consider that go beyond partisan debates,” Warren said, noting that Congress can create incentives for localities to modernize building codes and take other actions to lower costs.
Warren reported a provision in her bill with Warnock provides such incentives. “I’m also working with [Republican Sen. John Kennedy (La.)] on a related proposal to use the federal government’s carrots more effectively to try to incentivize more new construction,” she said.
“There’s no shortage of good, and in many cases, bipartisan, work that can be done by members of the banking committee on these and other solutions,” she said.
As examples, she specifically cited an effort from Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) to protect and expand the housing supply in rural areas; a bill from Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) to give local governments technical assistance and support to overhaul their local zoning laws; and one from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) on expanding the supply of manufactured housing.
And, of course, there’s the legislation to address trigger leads, sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.)–a big MBA issue.
“If we’re thinking about housing, we don’t have to have just one idea,” she continued. “In housing, we need to think about supply as ‘more is more.’ ”
She listed what she sees as some other pain points in tackling the industry’s challenges, including but not limited to the involvement of private equity and many of the recent actions of the new Trump Administration.
But, ultimately, “It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of creative solutions and a lot of persistence from all of us at all levels of government and across the housing industry. It will also require functional federal housing agencies and a robust economy,” Warren said. “We all have our work cut out for us.”
