The Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) Caucus will serve as a congressional meeting space and ideas factory for pro-housing policies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50), Robert Garcia (CA-42), and Marc Molinaro (NY-19) were joined by pro-housing advocates to announce the creation of the Congressional Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) Caucus. The first-of-its-kind caucus in the House will promote policies that encourage new housing development to tackle the affordable housing and homelessness crisis. The U.S. housing supply shortage, which sits between 4 and 7 million units, pushes people into homelessness as the demand for housing surpasses what is available in the housing market. The caucus will build on efforts to address these challenges at the federal level and will also work to convene conversations with local and state leaders who determine the bulk of housing policy. The bipartisan founding co-chairs of the caucus are Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Marc Molinaro (NY-19), Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6), Jake Auchincloss (MA-4), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7), and Chuck Edwards (NC-11).

“San Diego is consistently one of the most expensive places to live in the country, and far too many people in our community cannot afford a home or are pushed into homelessness,” said Rep. Peters. “Back in 2018, I was one of the founding members of the San Diego Democratic YIMBY Club when it was a fledgling movement, and I am honored to be a founding Co-Chair of this effort in Congress. This caucus will be essential for fostering pro-housing growth policies that lower costs, help people achieve the dream of home ownership, and create vibrant, walkable, and transit-connected communities.”

“The cost of rent is far too high. We must act to expand affordable housing options,” said Rep. Garcia. “This is a long-term, structural problem requiring us to take bold steps to create the new homes our community needs. Embracing YIMBY-ism, building more housing units, and embracing mixed-use zoning will increase our housing supply and drive down costs for Americans. We need to get more ambitious with proposals to speed up housing production, including offering more financial incentives for states and local governments that welcome new construction.”

“I'm proud to be a member of a bipartisan group of leaders who are fighting for everyday Americans,” said Rep. Molinaro. “The YIMBY Caucus was put in place to address the country's housing crisis and to work on solutions that promote the development of affordable housing options. Upstate New Yorkers struggle with this everyday and I’m glad to address it head on.”

“When I travel across my district, I consistently hear from constituents about the skyrocketing cost of housing,” said Rep. Pettersen. “As communities in Colorado and across the country face a lack of affordable housing supply, Congress cannot afford to delay addressing this urgent issue. I’m proud to join this bipartisan group of leaders committed to working across all levels of government to find solutions that help us build more affordable housing and bring down costs for working families.”

“Across the country, people are suffering under the weight of ever-higher housing costs,” said Laura Foote, Executive Director of YIMBY Action. “Our national housing shortage is pushing people down into poverty, away from opportunity, and throws a wet blanket on our economy. Building more housing near jobs has the ability to uplift millions of Americans and rebuild the middle class. We’re thrilled that a decade of YIMBY activism has led to this moment, and we’re grateful to the bipartisan leaders tackling America’s housing shortage head on.”

“The lack of housing supply and housing affordability are a national crisis affecting every region of our country,” said Laura Arce, Senior Vice President, UnidosUS. “We need comprehensive and commonsense solutions to build more types of housing in more places. UnidosUS commends the establishment of the YIMBY Caucus and stands ready to support its work to create a housing market that works for all families.”

“The exclusionary land use regulations that caused California’s housing shortage and affordability crisis are not unique to California -- and the housing crisis has spread to every jurisdiction that copied California’s approach,” said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY. “We need strong, pro-housing leadership at all levels of government to bring back the American dream of affordable homeownership, and to give renters a break on their housing costs. The creation of the bi-partisan House YIMBY caucus sends a powerful message: We must remove the barriers to housing abundance.”

“America’s affordable and homelessness crisis demands urgent action by all levels of government to address its two main causes: the severe shortage of homes affordable to people with the lowest incomes and the wide gap between incomes and housing costs,” said Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “I applaud Representatives Robert Garcia (D-CA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Scott Peters (D-CA), Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Marc Molinaro (R-NY), and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) for creating the bipartisan YIMBY caucus to help advance housing solutions at the scale needed to help end this crisis once and for all.”

“BPC Action applauds Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Scott Peters (D-CA), Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Marc Molinaro (R-NY), and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) for creating and co-chairing the bipartisan House YIMBY Caucus,” said Michele Stockwell, President, BPC Action. “At the heart of today’s housing affordability crisis is the acute shortage of affordable rental homes and entry-level homeownership options. We look forward to engaging with the YIMBY Caucus to identify common sense federal, state, and local actions that could be taken to ease regulatory barriers to increase our nation’s housing supply.”

“A critical shortage of apartment homes at all price points continues to impact communities across every corner of our country,” said National Apartment Association (NAA) President and CEO Bob Pinnegar. “Following an election where housing was at the forefront of conversation, now is the time for bold, bipartisan action. NAA applauds the formation of the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Caucus and looks forward to collaborating on sustainable solutions that boost housing supply and improve affordability for generations of renters to come.”

“State and local leaders across the country, from both political parties, are taking significant steps to ease restrictive regulations that limit housing growth,” said Alex Armlovich, Niskanen Center Senior Housing Policy Analyst. These efforts span various areas, including zoning and land use rules, permitting processes, procedural reviews, and multifamily building codes. The launch of the bipartisan House YIMBY Caucus marks a watershed in Congress’s recognition of the housing shortage and the need for stronger federal support to bolster state and local initiatives. Niskanen Center’s housing team applauds the founding YIMBY Caucus members—and looks forward to collaborating on innovative, bipartisan solutions to address the housing crisis.”

“As voters in the recent election cycle made clear, we need real solutions to our nation’s housing affordability crisis,” said Sharon Wilson Géno - President, NMHC.?”People on both sides of the aisle agree that we need to build more housing in communities across the country to ensure greater affordability and opportunity for all.?NMHC is proud to support the creation of the bipartisan YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) Caucus. We look forward to working with the caucus to enact actionable solutions that will result in more housing choices for all Americans.”

Background:

Representative Peters has been a longtime advocate of pro-housing policies, dating back to his time on the San Diego City Council. He has led efforts to build more homes, provide resources, and lower costs, such as the following:

• Introducing the Build More Housing Near Transit Act, which would encourage the construction of low and middle-income housing in transit-served, walkable locations.
• Leading a push for faster federal permits for commercial-to-residential building conversions by requesting that the Department of Transportation apply and expand its existing categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to these conversions. After Rep. Peters sent this letter, the Department of Transportation issued guidance clarifying that these projects may be eligible for NEPA categorical exclusions, vastly speeding up the projects’ federal financing process.
• Securing $1.25 billion in federal funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which sent over $6 million back to San Diego to finance new affordable housing construction.
• Co-leading the Affordable and Homeless Housing Incentives Act, which would help tackle the affordable housing shortage in California by offering a tax incentive to those who sell their property to nonprofits or public agencies for the purpose of creating affordable housing.

###