Top New Hampshire Democrats are urging President Donald Trump to sign a housing bill passed by a veto-proof majority in Congress.
Trump has said he won’t sign the bill until Congress passes a different bill that, among other things, would require voters to show proof of citizenship.
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas met Monday with housing advocates in Manchester to discuss the housing bill.
“We know we have to bring these costs down,” Hassan said. “This bill has a number of provisions that, over time, will help us do that. It isn’t the full solution. There is more work to do, but this is a good step forward, and now we just need the president to sign it.”
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The housing legislation represents a major issue for Americans struggling with affordability, and it takes aim at institutional investors buying up large numbers of houses.
Corporate interests that own 350 or more homes would have to meet specific criteria to expand their portfolios, although lawmakers removed a requirement that corporations developing single-family homes sell them to individual homebuyers within seven years.
“We’ve seen this across the country where they’re buying off single-family homes with these large portfolios, outbidding private buyers that are trying to get into their first home or to find an affordable place to live, and so that’s contributing to the high cost of housing,” Pappas said. “This bill cracks down on that practice.”
There has been a rare moment of bipartisan unity around the bill, and even Republicans are urging the president not to entangle the legislation with the fight to raise the bar on voter ID requirements.
“I understand where the president is coming from. I understand the frustration. We need voter integrity in America,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri. “But this is a standalone bill. It is, I think, the most formidable piece of legislation when it comes to housing in more than 20 years. I’m very frustrated, yes.”