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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Housing for All Act of 2025, which I introduced today.

Our Nation's homelessness and affordable housing crises have reached a breaking point. As of January, 2024, over 771,480 individuals in the U.S.--disproportionately people of color--experienced homelessness. The rate of homelessness has increased by 18 percent since 2023.

The lack of adequate Federal investments in affordable housing and housing assistance programs are exacerbating these crises. There is currently a shortage of 7.1 million affordable and available rental homes in the U.S. According to a recent National Low Income Housing Coalition report, no State or county exists where a person working 40 hours a week and earning the State or local minimum wage can afford to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment. Furthermore, over 21 million renters nationwide spend more than 30 percent of their income on just housing costs alone.

The affordable housing and homelessness crises are not just a blue State issue or an urban problem; every State is impacted. From our metropolitan areas to our rural heartlands, our constituents everywhere feel the real impact of housing unaffordability. It is time for the Federal Government to step up, partner with our State and local governments alongside service providers on the ground and other stakeholders, and invest in solving these problems at a rate commensurate with the need.

I am proud to re-introduce this bill, which represents a comprehensive approach to tackling housing and homelessness. If enacted, it would invest in and align Federal resources to support people experiencing housing instability. To address the affordable housing and homelessness crises, we must invest in proven policies that support strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and ensure quality, affordable homes for all.

Specifically, this bill would address the affordable housing shortage by investing in the housing trust fund, the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program, and the HOME Program. It establishes a commission to focus on racial equity in housing and homelessness.

The bill would address homelessness by investing in Housing Choice Vouchers, Project-Based Rental Assistance, emergency solutions grants, and continuums of care. It also builds on locally developed and driven approaches by creating new grant programs to strengthen mobile crisis intervention teams; to support hotel and motel conversions to permanent supportive housing with services; to aid libraries in supporting persons experiencing homelessness; to provide people living in vehicles with a safe place to park overnight and facilitate a transition to stable housing; and to coordinate behavioral health care with homelessness services. And it commissions a report on the connection between evictions and emergency rental assistance during the pandemic, so we can make smarter policies moving forward.

When I have traveled around California--from Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire--to the Central Valley, San Diego, and San Francisco--to better understand the needs for housing in different communities, some key elements stood out. On the production side, there is a need for more dedicated funding for affordable housing from the Federal Government. There is also missing middle-income housing for families, especially people of color. And there is not enough housing near transit. That is why my bill focuses on supporting inclusive, transit-oriented development. When I talked to researchers about keeping families housed, one main point they made was that we don't have enough data on renters and evictions, and that is why the bill includes a section on data, so we can make evidence-based policies.

Right now, the cost to build low-income housing in California is very high in part because of land and material costs and the fragmented way funding is distributed in California. This is a common problem across the Nation--not just in California. That is why the bill includes a section to provide technical assistance for localities navigating Federal and State housing funding sources.

Affordable housing is essential infrastructure. Every person deserves dignity, security, and a space of their own. At a time when the current aministration is gutting and dismantling key Housing and Urban Development Department programs and reducing protections for the most vulnerable among us, this bill has never been more important. Congress must step up so that our Nation's housing and homelessness crises are dealt with in a comprehensive and holistic way to ensure that every person and family in America has a place to call home.

I want to thank Representatives Ted Lieu and Salud Carbajal for introducing this bill with me, and I hope our colleagues will join us in supporting this comprehensive solution to our nationwide affordable housing and homelessness crises.

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