Crockett Introduces Combatting the Housing Supply Shortage Act

Today, Congresswomen Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) introduced the Combatting the Housing Supply Shortage Act. This bill would incentivize the construction of new, affordable housing by increasing the number of Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds available in states with high-demand for new housing, such as Texas and California. 

Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bonds for multifamily housing were approved by Congress decades ago to facilitate private investment in increasing the housing supply. Unfortunately, a growing number of states are reaching the cap of bonds that they can issue in a given year. Despite this, there are several other states that have surpluses that go unused each year, and under current law expire, unable to be used.

"Every time I come home, the number one issue I hear about from my constituents is the cost of rent and housing. Even as inflation has come down significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of housing remains too damn high - and that won't change until we actually start building more affordable housing in the communities where demand is high," said Rep. Crockett.

"According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Texas is short over 675,000 affordable housing units to meet the current demand. Texas is Number 3 in the nation for the number of renters below the poverty line who are spending more than 50% of the monthly income on rent. This is unsustainable and economically disastrous. Our Combatting the Housing Supply Shortage Act would help meet the demand for new housing by making it more affordable for builders to build new units in the places that actually need them, boosting the number of affordable units for rent and lowering housing costs for all."

For a one-pager on the bill, click here. To read the full bill text, click here.