Emanuel Cleaver: “I rise in support of H.R. 6644, also known as the Housing for the 21st Century Act. This legislation... would streamline…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 6644, also known as the Housing for the 21st Century Act. This legislation... would streamline regulations, expand affordable housing financing, and modernize Federal housing programs to significantly expand the Nation's housing supply. Passage of this bill would be historic not because it is extraordinary but because it is overdue. For decades, chronic underbuilding in the United States has driven up housing costs, priced millions out of homeownership, strained household budgets, and constrained employers' abilities to attract workers. Americans want their Representatives to act on the rising cost of living. For most American families, the monthly housing payment is their single largest expense. Representing about one-third of the Consumer Price Index, housing is also the single largest component of overall inflation.”