Housing

I know that affordable housing isn’t just a priority in southern Nevada — it’s a necessity.

I hear from folks who are struggling to keep a roof over their head: working parents trying to raise a family, veterans struggling to transition back to civilian life, and seniors who deserve better after retiring from a long career. All of these folks deserve housing that is safe, stable, and affordable. That’s why housing is one of my top priorities in Congress and what I’ve prioritized from my position on the House Appropriations Committee, which is in charge of distributing federal funds across the country.

Cracking Down on Corporate Price Gouging

Southern Nevada homes should be owned by southern Nevadans — not by corporate landlords or cash rich investors who outbid working families and jack up prices. Sadly, local reporting has uncovered that as many as 15% of single family homes in Las Vegas are owned by these investors, with the largest corporate landlord in Clark County owning over 3,700 homes — more than double what they owned in 2019. Recent studies even suggest that corporate entities could own up to 40% of homes nationwide by 2030. Meanwhile, Nevada has only 14 available affordable homes per 100 low-income households and lacks approximately 80,000 affordable housing units to meet the local demand.

This is what an affordable housing crisis looks like. That’s why I’m a proud supporter of the Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act, which would make it illegal to rent or sell a unit at an unreasonable price during an emergency like the one we currently face. It also directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate price manipulation and price gouging by these corporate investors.

From Big Pharma to Big Oil, I’m standing up to massive corporations that want to squeeze hardworking families and seniors. Housing is no different. I’ll keep fighting to lower your costs because I represent southern Nevadans — not special interests.

Cutting Government Red Tape

One of the biggest obstacles to expanding affordable housing and driving down costs is bureaucracy, plain and simple. That’s because every time we try to buy or sell public land for a local project – whether it’s housing, infrastructure, or conservation – that land must be appraised to ensure fair market value. But the problem is we don’t have enough appraisers to keep up with demand. My bipartisan AACE Act, which is endorsed by Governor Lombardo, cuts through red tape by streamlining public land appraisals, expanding access to qualified appraisers, and letting us more quickly develop the local housing projects southern Nevada needs.

Expanding Affordable Housing Credits

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is our nation’s most effective and successful tool for building and preserving affordable housing. Since its creation in 1986, the program has financed more than 3.6 million affordable housing units —nearly 90 percent of all federally-funded affordable housing during that time. That’s why I support the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, which would increase allocations of the LIHTC by 50 percent over two years and provide states with additional funding to support affordable housing projects. I also helped pass bipartisan legislation in the House to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

Securing Housing Investments

There are a handful of ways I’ve been able to bring back federal dollars and secure outside investments for southern Nevada’s affordable housing.

• For example, after a series of meetings and letters I successfully got the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco to commit to doubling the amount of funding Nevada receives for affordable housing as well as establishing the first-in-the-nation Targeted Fund to support housing initiatives in Nevada.
• In 2021, I was also proud to help pass the American Rescue Plan, which provided $120 million for Clark County’s Welcome Home Community Housing Fund to address homelessness and allow permanent, affordable housing developments in southern Nevada. It also made possible the state’s $500 million Home Means Nevada Initiative – the largest housing investment in Nevada’s history – to develop or preserve over 4,000 units of multi-family housing, acquire hundreds of acres of new land to create over 700 units of affordable housing, and incentivize home ownership.
• And finally, I never miss an opportunity to fight for grant opportunities and secure federal investments for community projects in southern Nevada. Most recently, I was proud to announce a $1.3 million investment in Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada to renovate their St. Vincent Apartments, including adding a brand-new elevator to this multi-story complex that houses seniors and individuals with disabilities.