17 Days to Go: Everyone deserves a place to call home
With just seventeen days until the primary, I am using each day to discuss an issue I have highlighted on the campaign trail. For Day 17, I am highlighting my plans to address the housing crisis, so that everyone has a place to call home.
Since I launched this campaign, I’ve heard the same thing from families with young kids, college students, and older people: “We love this state, but we’re not sure we can afford to stay.”
Even if this isn’t your story, chances are you know someone who’s been affected by the skyrocketing cost of housing.
Here’s the situation:
The median sale price for a home in New Hampshire has reached $555,000. 76% of renters in New Hampshire cannot afford the median-priced apartment. The annual household income needed to afford the average NH home is now over $150,000, but a typical household only earns $91,000.
Granite Staters are being priced out of the state because of ever-higher rents, utility costs, and property taxes, which then affects businesses and municipalities that are unable to hire because workers can’t afford to live in the communities where they work.
The bottom line is that we can’t afford more of the same. Solving the housing crisis means standing up to corporate greed and outdated rules, and standing up for the people who make our communities strong
So here’s what I’ll do in Congress:
Empower New Hampshire’s Local Builders by supporting new federal loan programs and accessible financing so small builders can compete again.
Invest in our Communities by pushing for funding that enables cities and towns to build and maintain critical infrastructure like water and sewer systems and roads.
Crack down on Corporate Speculation and Land Hoarding by working to end tax breaks for hedge funds and private equity firms snapping up single-family homes and supporting caps on institutional ownership to protect opportunities for ordinary buyers and renters.
Create Pathways to Affordable Housing by pushing for support for communities that modernize zoning so we can build the many different kinds of housing we need.
Encourage Housing First HUD Policy by working with federal, state, and local partners to prioritize permanent housing solutions for homeless community members.
Support Renters by working to expand Housing Choice Vouchers and protections for tenants.
Fight corporate greed in the mobile home marketplace (more on this in a couple days).
We have seventeen days left! Our momentum is building and I am so grateful for the support heading into our September 8th primary!
