Congressman Gonzalez: “We can’t fix a problem if we don’t admit we have a problem.”
Labor shortages and rising housing costs is putting homeownership out of reach for many South Texas families.
Contact: Alexis Torres
Washington, D.C.—After recently meeting with home builders in South Texas, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) addressed local concerns during last week’s House Committee on Financial Services hearing regarding government roadblocks to housing supply. While questioning expert witnesses, the Congressman pushed for answers on affordable housing issues and mass deportation policies creating construction labor shortages in the Rio Grande Valley.
During the hearing, Congressman Gonzalez highlighted that the housing challenge isn’t just about building more, but about building more affordably and expanding financial opportunities for South Texas families, “In the Rio Grande Valley, the district that I represent, the average home prices are $200,000, which on paper looks far more affordable than many places in the country. But, in this part of the district, people’s median income is $55,000. That means most families may never have a savings to buy a home with cash and because these mortgages tend to be smaller, many lenders won't offer them since they are less profitable under the current market conditions. So even in areas where housing is relatively affordable, too many working families are effectively iced out of homeownership from every angle.”
In addition to the housing affordability crisis, a key supply chain issue affecting South Texas and the nation is misguided immigration raids targeting the migrant labor force. The Congressman noted, “We can’t fix a problem if we don’t admit we have a problem. Thirty percent of construction workers in America are immigrant labor. In Texas, it’s 40 percent. Just recently, I met with home builders in my district that showed me videos of job sites that looked like ghost towns…We can’t build homes without people, hardworking people, which are immigrants. They’re building America. It’s not an American labor force born and raised in America that's building this country, it's labor that’s coming from other countries that are doing the hardest work…and building homes and affordable housing is part of it.”
Congressman Gonzalez’s December 3rd questioning was directed to Kevin Sears, Immediate Past President of National Association of Realtors; Julie Smith, Chief Administration Officer, Bozzuto, on behalf of the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), the National Apartment Association (NAA), and the Real Estate Technology and Transformation; Tobias Peter, Senior Fellow and Co-director of American Enterprise Institute Housing Center; and Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President of National Fair Housing Alliance.
To watch the full video, click here.