LOWERING HOUSING COSTS AND ADVANCING MAIN STREET COMMUNITY BANKS

On 2026-02-09, Representative Jeff Crank (R-CO-5) delivered a floor speech titled "LOWERING HOUSING COSTS AND ADVANCING MAIN STREET COMMUNITY BANKS" in the House. The speech addressed the economy and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation: HR6644.

LOWERING HOUSING COSTS AND ADVANCING MAIN STREET COMMUNITY BANKS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 27 (Monday, February 9, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 27 (Monday, February 9, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2090-H2093] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 2030 LOWERING HOUSING COSTS AND ADVANCING MAIN STREET COMMUNITY BANKS (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Haridopolos of Florida was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.) General Leave Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? There was no objection. Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Mr. Speaker, today, we rise to discuss the important issue of home affordability. As you just saw on this floor, we passed, with bipartisan support, led by our chairman of the Committee on Financial Services, French Hill, from the great State of Arkansas, a bill, with a 390-9 vote, to promote the idea of home affordability, the ultimate American Dream. Sadly, as we have recognized over the last few years, that dream has become further and further away for too many Americans. Starting today, we are moving in the right direction so that we might reduce those barriers to affordability and simply rely on the great economic mission of increasing supply to reduce the cost. Our first speaker tonight is from the State of Kentucky and serves on our Committee on Financial Services. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr). Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bill that advances exactly what Americans voted for: fewer bureaucrats, more builders, lower costs, and real results. Right now, families across America are still recovering from Biden- era inflation, sky-high interest rates, and a Washington regulatory state that makes it harder and more expensive to build a home. The radical left's answer is always more government, more mandates, more red tape. Well, that is how we got into this mess. Republicans have a better answer: Build more homes, faster, better, and cheaper. The solution to inflation, the solution to higher costs, is always more supply. The reason we have affordability challenges in housing, Mr. Speaker, is because we have an inventory shortage. Republicans are offering solutions to provide more housing stock to lower the costs for the American people and deliver on that American Dream of homeownership. This bill cuts through the regulatory choke hold that Washington has imposed on housing. It streamlines permitting, modernizes outdated Federal programs, and gets the Federal Government out of the way so builders can do what they do best: build. It empowers local communities, not central planners in Washington, D.C. It supports community banks. It focuses on supply-side solutions, not failed subsidies that only drive prices higher. Under President Donald Trump, we proved that when we cut regulations, unleash private investments, and trust American workers, the economy grows and families thrive. This bill applies that same America First, progrowth approach to housing. Instead of telling Americans how to live, this legislation helps them own a home, raise a family, and build wealth, the foundation of the American Dream. Mr. Speaker, I love the fact that this legislation focuses on overregulation of manufactured housing, an outstanding solution for many low- and moderate-income individuals who just can't get there in terms of a downpayment or just can't get there in terms of the monthly payment. Manufactured housing, especially in rural America, is a great solution for a lower downpayment and a lower monthly payment. Burdensome HUD regulations have been an impediment to unleashing more manufactured housing stock for Americans. This bill provides a solution to that, eliminating ridiculous regulations that really impede manufactured housing. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, I will spend my time here tonight highlighting the section of the bill that provides regulatory relief for community banks. To drive down costs, we need to make it easier for those community- based lenders to originate residential construction loans and development loans to address the shortage of inventory. More supply means lower costs, and more provision of capital into the real economy from community financial institutions that know the borrower, that have a relationship with that builder, the more supply of housing stock to help lower the cost. Inflation and high prices are always a function of a supply-demand mismatch. If we can help incentivize more capital formation and lending to the builders, the entrepreneurs who provide additional housing for Americans, especially in that one to four residential construction zone, the better in terms of affordability for Americans. According to the FDIC, approximately 60 percent of one- to four- family residential construction and development loans were held by banks with assets under $10 billion. Those are the community banks. Lowering the regulatory costs on those institutions in particular is critical to increasing the supply of housing. This bill does exactly that. It lowers the regulatory burden on those community financial institutions that provide the bulk of these construction loans. This is the bill that the Committee on Financial Services passed, and we passed it with bipartisan support because the problem is obvious: We don't have enough housing, and Washington is making it worse. The solution is also obvious: Stop standing in the way. Mr. Speaker, this legislation rejects the left's obsession with central planning and embraces free enterprise, local control, and common sense. It puts builders back to work and expands housing supply, and it helps bring costs down for hardworking Americans. That is why I urge my colleagues to support Housing for the 21st Century Act, deliver real America First solutions for the people we serve, and enhance regulatory tailoring for those community financial institutions--cutting red tape; streamlining bank exams and outdated thresholds so well-run banks can focus on lending, not paperwork; expanding community and rural banks' access to stable deposits so that they can lend locally and support small businesses and households; supporting rural banks; encouraging new bank formation; and providing regulators flexibility to handle failures without hurting local access to banking. Mr. Speaker, I especially thank Chairman Hill for including in this legislation a version of my bill, the Promoting New Bank Formation Act, which allows for a phase-in of capital requirements for new banks to make it easier for de novo charters. We have seen a dearth and a decline in de novo charters. The more community-based lenders, the better. The more community banks that are formed in this country, the more competition and choice, the more access to capital for those construction and development loans. That means lower home prices, more homes, and more access to the American Dream of homeownership for the American people. Mr. Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues--most of my colleagues for supporting this bill tonight, the Housing for the 21st Century Act. Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Barr for mentioning higher construction costs, more regulatory delays, outdated zoning laws, and, of course, the desperate need for more community banks in the process. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Stutzman), a fellow member of the Committee on Financial Services. Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Congressman Haridopolos, for organizing this evening's event. I am proud to say that this body just passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act in a strong bipartisan manner. Owning a home is the American Dream. It is one of the best investments any person can possibly make here in America. At a time when too many American families are struggling to afford a [[Page H2091]] home, House Republicans are taking meaningful action to address one of the most pressing challenges facing our country. Indiana remains one of the most affordable States for homeownership in the country, but I know the dream of owning a home is still out of reach for many Hoosiers. Every day, I hear from families that work hard, save their money, and still cannot find a place to call their own. Unfortunately, this is true not just for families in my district, but for the families across the country, as well. House Republicans have heard these concerns and responded with legislation that will directly help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership. Instead of throwing more taxpayer dollars at ineffective government programs, we are restoring housing affordability by getting government out of the way. Included in this package are many commonsense, bipartisan reforms. Among them is my Streamlining Rural Housing Act. I thank Chairman Hill for including it in this package. Today, rural housing projects in Indiana and across the country that rely on both HUD and USDA programs must undergo two separate environmental reviews. This duplicative process drives up costs for developers, delays construction, and discourages the very investment we need to expand affordable rural housing. My bill requires HUD and USDA to establish a joint environmental review process so that these projects no longer face redundant oversight. The result is simple: fewer delays, lower costs, and more homes built for working families across the country. This package also delivers several other important housing reforms. One such reform led by my colleague on the Committee on Financial Services from Tenne

Referenced legislation: HR6644