MY TURN: Seeking Idahoans’ input to develop affordable housing policy
Access to affordable housing remains one of the most pressing issues affecting both employees and employers across Idaho, and it is the No. 1 issue Idahoans raise with me in meetings across the state. I am asking Idahoans to participate in a housing survey, accessible on my website at https://www.crapo.senate.gov/issues/affordable-housing-survey and at the QR Code embedded below, to help create a better understanding of the specific housing challenges in Idaho in an effort to develop policy solutions.
In August 2024, I hosted a roundtable in the Lewiston area with local government officials, homebuilders, Realtors, financial institutions, the chamber of commerce, homelessness advocates and others to discuss how the lack of affordable housing is impacting residents and employers across Idaho. The discussion was the start of our effort to piece together the housing puzzle and work to find collaborative solutions to this issue. The housing survey stems from this discussion and will help us better understand common housing trends specific to certain regions and broader housing issues across the state.
And Idaho is far from alone in this challenge. We have a housing crisis across the country, primarily as families who want to move to a community or live in a community for a specific job cannot find affordable housing. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, “For low-income Americans, the hunt for affordable housing can be especially tough.”
Idaho in particular is a beautiful and desirable place to live, and it is no surprise that our population has grown exponentially, putting considerable pressure on housing availability and affordability. Idahoans can be a key part in helping to find collaborative solutions to this issue. The information you provide through the survey will be used solely for the purpose of analyzing and considering legislation on this issue. At the conclusion of the survey, the data will be aggregated and released in a final report available to the public. No personally identifiable information will be included in the final report and responses will ensure anonymity.
As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and a member of the Senate Budget Committee, I work with members of the committees and many others to advance legislation and policy changes to help broaden housing options. This includes legislation I am co-sponsoring to modernize and streamline housing programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service; and legislation I am leading in the Senate to make affordable housing more accessible to disabled veterans.
Efforts to help grow our economy, through preventing a more than $4 trillion tax increase on the American people and reducing unnecessary and burdensome federal regulation are also key pieces to addressing the housing crisis. The less hard-earned taxpayer income spent on taxes and meeting unnecessary regulatory requirements, the less financial pressure on families in meeting housing needs.
I am working aggressively with President Trump and others to permanently extend and build on the Trump tax cuts, or the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In addition to lowering tax rates for all Americans, extending this tax relief will also help ensure access to capital in the housing industry. Incentivizing builders to create affordable homes can be a phenomenal boost to getting the housing we need.
But, keeping federal tax rates low and reducing overregulation are only part of the solution to the housing puzzle. With your help through this housing survey, we can identify additional needed changes that can make affordable housing more attainable for all Idahoans. Please also share this survey with fellow Idahoans. The survey will remain open until May 31, 2025.
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Mike Crapo represents the state of Idaho in the U.S. Senate. He can be reached at crapo.senate.gov.
Crapo Housing Survey QR Code