Yesterday, Senate Democrats led the charge to pass a bipartisan housing affordability bill to begin to address the housing crisis and meaningfully lower housing costs for everyday Americans. Democrats continue to work to ensure every American can afford a home.
The legislation supports new efforts to combat the zoning and permitting red tape that has slowed construction across the country, and establishes new programs that make building housing cheaper and faster. Democrats also fought to ensure that working families have an equal opportunity to buy homes, and this bill works to prevent institutional investors from shutting Americans out of the housing market.
In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:
“While Donald Trump doubles down on his reckless economic policies that have made life more unaffordable, Senate Democrats forced Republicans to the table to pass commonsense legislation that lowers costs for everyday Americans. Trump’s disastrous tariffs and war with Iran have driven up costs as homeownership increasingly becomes a pipedream for millions of families. Democrats will continue to fight to lower costs and ensure that every American has the opportunity to own a home and pursue the American dream.”
Trump and Republicans’ policies have made the housing crisis worse. Houses are sitting on the market for longer periods of time due to high prices, and mortgage rates are still too expensive for millions of Americans. A recent report also found the number of new households formed in 2025 hit Great Recession lows, and nearly one-in-four homeowners spent more than 30% of their income on housing expenses. Sales of previously owned homes are at their lowest level in decades, pushing more buyers out of the housing market. Those who are buying homes are increasingly falling behind on payments or losing their homes altogether: U.S. foreclosure filings hit a six-year high in the first quarter of this year, while the average annual home-insurance bill was nearly $3,000 last year, up 12% from the year before.
Americans consistently rank housing as one of their top economic priorities. In a recent poll, 79% of voters said the cost of housing is an extremely or very important issue, and nearly 90% of voters believe buying a home is harder than ever before. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Trump reportedly told House Speaker Mike Johnson that “no one gives a [bleep] about housing.”
