Rep. Peters, Housing Advocates Praise 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as Transformative for Housing Crisis

San Diego, CA - Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) brought local housing experts and advocates together to discuss how the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act will help tackle the nation's housing affordability crisis, increase housing supply, and reduce barriers to housing development. It was approved by both chambers in Congress and tomorrow, if the President does not veto it, it becomes law.

Housing affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing San Diegans. Only 13 percent of households can afford a median-priced home, and average rents are 44 percent higher than the national average. San Diego has made progress to make housing more affordable, but we still have a long way to go to ensure every person has a safe, affordable place to call home.

"Housing affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing San Diegans," said Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50). "Increasing housing supply is the most effective way to lower costs. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is landmark federal legislation to do that. It has now been passed by both chambers in Congress. Tomorrow it will become law, not with President Trump's signature, but despite his indifference to the fact that too many Americans cannot afford a place to live."

San Diego has done the work of being a pro-housing region," said Stephen Russell, President and CEO of the San Diego Housing Federation. "We've streamlined, we've zoned, we've built. What this legislation does is create carrots that will bring the rest of the country toward what we've already done here - the Innovation Fund, the planning grants, the CDBG production incentives. This law is, in many ways, the federal government finally catching up to San Diego."

"The reality is simple: homelessness cannot be solved without housing," said Carlynne Yu, Chief Financial Officer for the Regional Task Force on Homelessness. "The ROAD to Housing Act helps prevent homelessness by preserving affordable housing, strengthening housing stability for individuals and families at risk of losing their homes, and creating multiple new pathways to affordable housing. When we expand access to stable, affordable housing, we strengthen our communities and create better outcomes for everyone."

"In San Diego, you need to make over $100,000 a year just to start thinking about buying a home," said Brigette Browning, President of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council. "Too many of our members are paying more than a third of their paycheck for housing. That's not just a math problem. It's a dignity problem. It's a survival problem. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act is a step in the right direction. It will help increase housing supply, lower barriers to development, and make manufactured housing more affordable."

"The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act takes a meaningful step toward fixing what is fundamentally a supply problem by making it faster, more predictable and more cost-effective to build the housing resources our communities need," said Jimmy Silverwood, President of Affirmed Housing. "At Affirmed Housing, we see every day through communities like The Helm that, when you increase the supply of affordable housing, you reduce pressure across the market and create real pathways out of homelessness."

Background: As Co-Chair of the 'YIMBY' Caucus, Rep. Peters has made addressing housing affordability and homelessness a central focus of his work in Congress, particularly in response to rising rents and housing shortages in San Diego. He has championed policies to increase the supply of affordable housing, support building higher-density housing near transit, and ban income discrimination in housing. He is also a founding member of the Build America Caucus - a bipartisan group of lawmakers working to expedite infrastructure development.

A livestreamed recording of the press conference can be viewed here. Additional photos from the event, courtesy of the office of Rep. Scott Peters, can be viewed here.

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