What happens when a Yankee progressive and Southern conservative team up? More housing, they hope.
At first glance, there's not much − if anything − that unites U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, one of the Senate's most progressive lawmakers, and John Kennedy, one of its most conservative.
But after Warren, D-Mass., and Kennedy, R-La., found common ground during a March Senate committee hearing on the challenges of building more affordable housing, they took the next step.
The unlikely allies are set to roll out legislation aimed at making it easier to build affordable housing and to provide more housing opportunities for veterans and rural Americans.
That'll happen when the Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee sit down together for what's known as a "mark-up" session on housing legislation.
The proposal sponsored by Warren and Kennedy will be included in a broader package that also includes proposals to increase the nation's housing supply, the lawmakers said in a statement.
"Americans are suffering under sky-high housing prices caused by a worsening housing shortage. The Federal government should use the tools at our disposal to reward communities that are taking bold action to build more housing and reduce families' biggest monthly expense," Warren, the commitee's ranking Democrat, said.
"It's time for Congress to act – and this bipartisan proposal is a call to action to communities across the country to build housing now," she continued.
As it's currently written, the bill would use a number of incentives to encourage local governments to build more housing. It would also provide regulatory relief to communities looking to boost their housing stock.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., arrives before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)AP
That includes increasing their share of coveted federal Community Development Block Grant money when they've shown they've improved their track record on housing, the two lawmakers said.
The bill, christened the Build Now Act, also would give communities a two-year grace period to improve that track record.
"In my book, homeownership shouldn't be a pipe dream for the average American family. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with me. Government overregulation has brought homebuilding to a grinding halt and left ordinary people waving in the wind as existing home prices went through the roof," Kennedy said.
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