If there’s one main complaint Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen hears from constituents, it’s the rising cost of housing.
“So many people just [are] unable to continue to live in the places they've grown up and are being pushed out of their community,” she told CPR News. “It's especially difficult in Colorado and in rural Colorado. I always say our secret's out, it's the best place to live, and we do not have the housing supply that's kept pace with the demand.”
She’s hoping a new bipartisan caucus will put pro-housing policies center stage in the next Congress.
Pettersen is one of the co-chairs of the new bipartisan YIMBY (Yes, In My Back Yard) Caucus that seeks to bring together Congress members who want to make affordable housing a priority.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in a red or a blue district, this is impacting everybody. So it’s about bringing those members together to come up with a broad array of policy solutions,” she explained.
While many housing policies are set at the local level, Pettersen does see a role for Congress and the federal government. That could include reevaluating tax credits or creating incentives to help developers build the types of housing communities need.
For example, a bipartisan and bicameral bill Pettersen introduced early last year would have ensured that recipients of block grants report on policies that could impact housing affordability. The bill did not move forward in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Pettersen also thinks Congress is key to ensuring the incoming Trump administration doesn’t enact policies that negatively impact housing, such as tariffs that could affect building materials and make homes more expensive. There’s also the matter of protecting the construction industry’s workforce, which includes a high proportion of undocumented workers.
The caucus currently has about 25 members, including co-chairs Reps. Robert Garcia, Jake Auchincloss, Juan Ciscomani, Scott Peters and Chuck Edwards.
Two other co-chairs, Reps. Marc Molinaro and Lori Chavez-DeRemer, lost their reelection bids, although President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to nominate Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor. The caucus will seek to replace them in the new year.
