Liccardo housing bills move ahead

“This is mostly about long-term structural expansion of supply. It will take many years to have an impact. It’s a necessary, but not sufficient, step to address our housing crisis,” he said. 

His legislation is designed to eliminate some barriers on getting housing built, tackling duplicative environmental rules that can cause unnecessary delay and limitations on federal funding for small, affordable developments. 

Another piece of legislation he introduced, the Revitalizing Empty Structures Into Desirable Environments Act, would establish a pilot program for repurposing unused, large-scale buildings into affordable housing, serving households making less than the median income. 

That bill didn’t make it into the House’s housing package, though similar legislation is included in a tandem Senate package. Liccardo is hopeful that the RESIDE Act will make it into the final, reconciled version of the Housing for the 21st Century Act during future negotiations. 

Although he and other moderate Democrats have been able to find common ground with Republicans on “getting out of the way” of local and state housing production and eliminating red tape, he’s cognizant that the needle isn’t moving on more proactive programs. 

“I wouldn’t say this housing package is going to change the reality for tens of thousands of unhoused residents in California, for example, or for many extremely low-income families that are struggling to hold on,” he said.

If Democrats are able to obtain control of the House in the 2026 midterms, Liccardo said he’s hopeful a federal housing voucher program will be a top priority, for example. 

“There’s an awful lot of thinking going on on our side of the aisle on what we need to be ready to push on if and when the opportunity presents itself if we get the speakers’ gavel,” he said. “Certainly, housing choice vouchers should be at the top of that list.” 

He’s experienced other measured successes in the housing realm, like the Trump administration’s reversal of a policy that would have cut funding for the Continuum of Care program, an investment in permanent supportive housing for low-income families. 

“The opportunity for folks like me who are in the minority party, but still looking to get something done, is finding those issues that may not be in headlines in Washington, D.C., but we know is very important to millions of Americans,” Liccardo said.