Political Quotes

“I want to begin by offering my sincere thanks to the chairman of the Finance Committee, my friend Senator Wyden of Oregon. I am honored to be on the floor with him today to talk about these housing issues and this really important bill, the Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act, which, as he already mentioned, is bipartisan and bicameral. As Senator Wyden already mentioned, our country is facing a lot of challenges right now: inflation, fentanyl coming through our borders, national security threats all over the place overseas. But it is very obvious, and anyone reading the paper knows, that we are also experiencing in rural and urban America a severe housing crisis. Everywhere I travel in the great State of Alaska, I hear from Alaskans reeling from the scarcity of housing, and it is everywhere--Anchorage, Fairbanks, Sitka, Ketchikan, Kodiak--every single small rural village in my State. It is everywhere. I know it is a big challenge in Oregon, but it is a big challenge all over the country, and it is a challenge that impacts low- and middle- income families. It stands as a stark obstacle to getting and keeping jobs, to having a family, to building communities. This is really foundational stuff in terms of what matters in communities--housing. So solving this challenge has been one of my top priorities, and I really want to thank Senator Wyden and his team for being so patient in working with us--a really good partner here.…”