Democrats press Biden to lower housing costs before leaving White House

Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate pressed President Biden to lower housing costs before he leaves the White House in a letter dated Wednesday.

“We write today to thank you for your historic work to expand tenant protections and lower the cost of housing and to encourage you to take further action before your term ends,” the letter reads.

“Under your leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken important steps to protect renters from predatory corporate landlords and to make home purchases and refinancing more affordable,” continues the letter, first reported by HuffPost. “But there is even more that can be done using executive agencies’ existing statutory authority. We offer the following recommendations to address the high cost of housing felt by millions of Americans.”

More than 30 Democrats signed the letter, including key progressives like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Ed Markey (Mass.) and Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Katie Porter (Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), also signed on to the letter.

In the letter, the lawmakers recommended measures “to reduce housing costs for American families,” including “Tackling Junk Fees,” “Lowering Credit Report Costs” and “Promoting Housing Development on Federal Property.”

“Housing costs continue to be the largest budget item for many American households each month, burdening renters and making homeownership unaffordable for too many,” the letter said.

A second-quarter analysis released in July found expenses on median-priced homes at 35.1 percent of the average national wage — a high not seen since 2007.

In August, the Biden administration unveiled a $100 million investment targeting barriers to affordable housing construction, with funds set to be made available by the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program that offers grants to state and local governments, alongside other entities, as part of a wider attempt “to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation.”

“We appreciate the partnership of members of Congress on our efforts to build more homes, lower housing costs, and protect renters, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to implement President Biden’s ambitious housing agenda,” White House spokesperson Jeremy Edwards said in an emailed statement to The Hill on Thursday.

Updated at 10:43 p.m. EST.