Ricketts on the Senate Floor: Pass ROAD to Housing, Landmark Housing Bill Delivers for Nebraskans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) called on his Senate colleagues to pass the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act.  Ricketts discussed the success of Nebraska housing programs when he was Governor and the importance of theStreamlining Rural Housing Act.

“Nebraska is the best place in the world to live.  Nebraska is what America is supposed to be,” said Ricketts.  “Sadly, in Nebraska, the dream that most Americans have of home ownership is also becoming more difficult, just as it is in the rest of the country.  First-time home ownership in this country is difficult because housing is expensive — hard to get.  In fact, the average age of a first-time owner in America today is 40.  Ten years ago, that was 31.  And it’s red tape that is helping to drive up the cost of homes — red tape and regulation.”

“If we can pass the ROAD to Housing Act, we’ll be able to help cut the red tape that exists there.  We’ll be able to unlock billions of dollars in private capital.  “This will help us create more supply and bring the cost down,” concluded Ricketts.  “This bill is great for American families, for our veterans, and for helping people achieve the American dream.  And it’s especially great for our rural communities.”

Watch the video HERE.

TRANSCRIPT:

Senator Ricketts: “Nebraska is the best place in the world to live.

“Nebraska is what America is supposed to be.

“Sadly, in Nebraska, the dream that most Americans have of home ownership is also becoming more difficult, just as it is in the rest of the country.

“First-time home ownership in this country is difficult because housing is expensive — hard to get.

“In fact, the average age of a first-time owner in America today is 40.

“Ten years ago, that was 31.

“And it’s red tape that is helping to drive up the cost of homes — red tape and regulation.

“In fact, it’s estimated that 25% of the cost of a new home is actually regulation.

“And if you’re talking about an apartment building, that’s actually 40% of the cost of an apartment building — regulation.

“This is not a new problem.

“It’s been around for a while.

“When I was governor, we faced the same issues, especially in rural Nebraska.

“When I was governor, I worked with my legislature, and we passed our Rural Workforce Housing Act.

“And we dedicated $7 million, and we created this fund that communities and developers could apply to.

“And what many communities did is they got this grant money, and they created essentially a revolving fund to be able to loan out to developers, to allow them to either get bridge funding or cover some of the costs.

“And ultimately those developers and communities would repay that fund back to the communities, who could then loan it back out again.

“And this was very successful.

“It allowed us to be able to encourage developers to move outside of Lincoln and Omaha and build housing in our smaller towns and rural communities.

“In fact, it was so successful we went back and added another $10 million.

And it’s this kind of Nebraska solutions that I am bringing to Washington, D.C., for the rest of America.

“How can we create more housing supply to address the issue, to bring the cost of housing down?

“That is what we need to attack here in Washington, D.C.

“And in fact, that is what we are doing in the banking committee.

“With the leadership of Chairman Scott, we have put forward the Renewing Opportunity the American Dream Act, or ROAD to Housing Act.

“And this bill came out of our banking committee unanimously, because both Republicans and Democrats understand the need to create more housing supply to address the issue of home ownership in America.

“The House has a similar bill that came out of their committee nearly unanimously.

“And now I expect that within the next few weeks, we will be voting on the ROAD to Housing Act here on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

“In this bill, the ROAD to Housing Act, I have a piece that I introduced called the Streamlining Rural Housing Act.

“And this is because many rural communities draw upon both Housing and Urban Development money, as well as United States Department of Agriculture money to be able to create more housing supply.

“However, both HUD and USDA have conflicting or overlapping regulations that create confusion and adds red tape.

“What my part of the ROAD to Housing Act would do would help streamline that, so that we’re not doing things in series, we’re doing them in parallel, that we’re actually trying to consolidate the review and inspection process.

“All those sorts of things that would actually help us get that money out faster, which would create housing supply faster, which would help bring down the cost of housing.

“I also cosponsor the Housing Supply and Innovation Frameworks Act.

“And this is a bill that was led by one of my colleagues in my delegation, Congressman Mike Flood, and it really helps create a framework or best practices for zoning to be able to help communities look to see what they can do with regard to their zoning practices, to be able to again, encourage building housing that will create more supply, which will bring the cost down.

“The ROAD to Housing Act is an important step.

“It’s how we’re fighting for Americans to be able to create the opportunities for home ownership, to fight to allow those families to achieve the American dream, to be able to own their own home, which is so important to so many Americans.

“It’s often their first big investment.

“It’s how they create wealth.

“It truly is one of the things that makes this country great.

“If we can pass the ROAD to Housing Act, we’ll be able to help cut the red tape that exists there.

“We’ll be able to unlock billions of dollars in private capital.

“This will help us create more supply and bring the cost down.

“This bill is great for American families, for our veterans, and for helping people achieve the American dream.

“And it’s especially great for our rural communities.

“As Governor of Nebraska, we worked very hard to be able to create more housing supply.

“I am so pleased to be able to be here in the U.S. Senate, to be able to continue to fight and to make that dream of affordable homeownership again something that Americans can aspire to in this country.

“I encourage all of my colleagues to support the ROAD to Housing Act so we can pass this important piece of legislation to be able to help make housing more affordable for Americans and help restore that dream of home ownership to Nebraskans and Americans all across this country.”