Homeowner Energy Freedom Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOLDMAN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation is facing a housing affordability crisis. When I was growing up, the median age of a first-time home buyer was 29 years old. Today, it is 40 years old. Since then, the median home price has increased by more than 400 percent. As a result, nearly 75 percent of U.S. households cannot afford the typical price tag of a new home.

Homes are simply too expensive for many Americans, and burdensome Federal Government regulations are a major driver of these rising costs. The Biden administration mandated mountains of red tape, dictating what Americans have to put in their homes.

Specifically, they imposed costly climate change codes, restricting which appliances families can use to cook their food and heat their homes. The Homeowner Energy Freedom Act would change that. This bill is simple, but its implications are significant.

First, it helps reduce the cost of building new homes. Regulations account for nearly 25 percent of the price of constructing a single- family home. Instead of improving housing affordability, the Federal Government is burying the dream of homeownership under 6 feet of red tape.

Some of my Democratic colleagues argue that green energy regulations save homeowners on utility bills. If electric appliances are so cost effective, why did Democrats need to allocate billions in taxpayer money to mandate their installation?

In reality, these green energy regulations fail to lower utility costs, and they increase overall costs of new homes. Homebuilders have estimated that these energy regulations have increased the price tag of a new home by up to $31,000.

Second, this bill restores Americans' freedom to make their own choices in their own homes. Americans don't need the Democrats and Washington, D.C., bureaucrats dictating which appliances they can or cannot have in their own home.

Federal overreach threatens the American Dream of homeownership. For generations, Americans have worked hard, raised families, and built their lives in their homes. Homeownership remains foundational to financial security and long-term prosperity.

Americans are calling on Congress to improve housing affordability. We must act to ensure hardworking Americans can raise a family in a home of their own. We must repeal these costly green energy mandates. We must reduce the cost of new homes. We must return consumer choice to homeowners. We must restore the American Dream of homeownership.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act.

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