Where do Trump and Harris stand? • Nebraska Examiner
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of reports from U.S. newsrooms on key policy issues in the presidential campaign.
WASHINGTON — As housing costs and availability remain top concerns among voters, both presidential candidates have proposed plans to address the crisis in hopes of wooing voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
The coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020 has exacerbated problems in the housing market, with supply chain disruptions, record-low interest rates and increased demand leading to rising home prices, According to a study in the Journal of Housing Economics.
While housing is typically handled at the local level, supply is tight and rents continue to soar, putting pressure on the federal government to help. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump agree that this is a problem that needs to be solved, but their solutions differ.
Harris and the Trump campaign did not respond to The Nation’s requests for details on the general housing proposals discussed by the nominees.
Promise: Millions of new homes
Harris’ planCalls for 3 million homes to be built within four years.
There is one in the United States Shortage of approximately 3.8 million homes for sale and rentalaccording to Freddie Mac’s forecast for 2021, which remains trustworthy.
also, Homelessness hits record high at 653,100 A study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies shows that since January of last year, “a record 22.4 million renter households are spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities,” up from 2019. The number is 2 million households.
“It’s obviously a multi-pronged approach because there are so many factors that contribute to high rents and housing affordability, and my plan is to try to address many of them at once so that we actually have the net effect of lowering costs.” Si said in an interview in September: Wisconsin Public Radio.
Commitment: Single Family Zoning
Trump has long opposed the construction of multifamily housing in favor of single-family zoning, which would exclude other types of housing. This land use regulation is carried out by local government agencies rather than the federal government, although the federal government can exert influence over it.
“There will be no low-income housing developments built in areas close to your home,” Trump said at an August rally in Montana. “I’m going to keep criminals out of your neighborhoods.”
Promise: Get Congress to agree
Election Forecasters Predictions Democrats are set to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, but Republicans are expected to win the Senate, meaning any housing proposal must have overwhelming bipartisan support.
“How much money are really going to be available to do all of these things that Trump and Harris are proposing without a big increase in revenue?” Ted Tozer, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute’s Center for Housing Finance Policy, told National News said in an interview in the editorial office. “All the money comes from Congress.”
Many of Harris’ policies rely on the cooperation of Congress because the federal government has historically had limited tools to address the housing shortage.
“On the Democratic side, there’s a hunger for more action, a hunger for more direct government intervention in the housing market that we’ve seen in a long time,” said Francis Torres, deputy director of housing and infrastructure at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Nearly all of Harris’ proposals would require legislation and appropriations from Congress. The first one is S.2224The bill, introduced by Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, would amend U.S. tax law to prohibit private equity firms from buying homes in bulk by denying “interest and depreciation deductions to taxpayers who own 50 or more single-family properties.”
The second bill, S.3692Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, it would ban the use of algorithms to artificially raise rent costs.
Regardless of which party controls it, both bills will need to meet a 60-vote threshold to pass the Senate.
Commitment: $25,000 Down Payment Assistance
Harris has pledged to support first-time homebuyers, but Congress will need to fund her proposed $25,000 down payment assistance program that would benefit an estimated 4 million first-time homebuyers over four years.
The proposal was met with skepticism.
“I’m really concerned that down payment assistance will actually put more pressure on home prices because basically, you’re giving people extra cash to pay more for the homes they’re bidding on,” Tozer said. “So by definition they’re going to be in a bidding war and they’re going to spend more money.”
Harris also proposed creating a $40 billion Innovation Fund for local governments to build and create housing solutions, which would also require congressional approval.
Commitment: Open up federal lands
Both candidates support opening up some federal lands for housing, which would mean selling the land for construction purposes, and pledging to reserve a percentage of units for affordable housing.
federal government Owns approximately 650 million acres of landaccounting for approximately 30% of all land.
Neither candidate elaborated on the proposals.
“I think it’s a sign that at least the Harris campaign and the people around her are thinking about really addressing housing affordability through stronger government action than they’ve had in decades,” Torres said.
Promise: Expand tax credits
The largest tool the federal government has at its disposal to address housing issues is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC. Harris has pledged to expand the tax credit, but has not elaborated on how much she wants to expand it.
The program provides tax credits to offset construction costs in exchange for a certain number of rent-restricted units for low-income households. But the restrictions are temporary Lasts about 30 years.
There is no similar program for homeownership.
“It’s an interesting moment because on the other side, on Trump’s side, even though they diagnose a lot of similar problems, there’s not that much desire to use the power of the federal government to ensure affordability,” Torres said.
Trump’s record on housing
The Trump campaign has no housing proposal, but interviews, rallies and a review of Trump’s first four years in office provide a road map.
During Trump’s first administration, many of his HUD budget proposals failed to gain congressional approval.
In all four of his presidential budget requests, he has included proposals to raise rents by 40 percent for the roughly 4 million low-income families who use rental vouchers or live in public housing, according to left-leaning analysis. Brookings Institution.
All four of Trump’s budgets also call for eliminating housing programs like the Community Development Block Grant, which provides money to local and state governments to repair and build affordable housing. Trump’s budget would also make significant cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a home energy assistance program for low-income families.
In addition, Trump’s Opportunity Zones, authorized through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, provide tax incentives for businesses and real estate investing in low-income communities. The results are mixed.
Promise: Reduce regulations and increase tariffs
In an interview with Bloomberg, Trump said he wants to focus on reducing regulations in the permitting process.
“Your permitting, your permitting process. Your zoning, if — I’ve been through zoning for years. Zoning is like… it’s a killer,” he said. “But we will do it and we will lower the prices.”
Trump has frequently stated at campaign rallies that he will impose a 10% tariff on all goods entering the United States, and he has also proposed imposing a 60% tariff on China.
Trump said at a rally in Georgia that tariffs is “one of the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard.”
Tozer said increased trade policies, such as tariffs on building materials such as lumber, would drive up the cost of housing.
Promise: Deport immigrants
Trump argued that his mass eviction plan would help free up housing supply. Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tell the new york times Deporting immigrants would lower housing costs because immigrants “are driving up housing costs.”
the former president has made core campaign promises Deport millions of immigrants.
Tozer said housing and immigration are closely linked because the ability to build homes depends on workers, and About 30% of construction workers are immigrants.
“By closing the borders, you potentially shut down the ability to build these homes,” he said, adding that all of these policies are intertwined.
