Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) has called on the House of Representatives to pass the Build Now Act, legislation he says would address rising housing costs in the United States. Speaking from the Senate floor, Kennedy outlined his reasoning and urged support for the bill.
“Well, what causes prices, specifically the cost of housing, to go up? Well, it’s when demand for housing is greater than the supply of housing. Duh. It’s not complicated.”
Kennedy explained that while federal lawmakers should avoid interfering directly with local zoning laws, Congress can use federal funding as an incentive. He noted that cities across America receive between $2 billion and $3 billion annually in community development block grant (CDBG) funds.
“Every year, we send between $2 billion and $3 billion to cities across America. . . . And the local governments, they love what we call community development block grant money—CDBG funds. You say CDBG to a person in local government, they’ll start salivating. They love this money like the devil loves sin. Why is that? Because it’s free money, and they have a lot of discretion. They, meaning our friends in local government, have a lot of discretion on how they spend it.”
He described working with Senator Elizabeth Warren to draft and pass the Build Now Act in the Senate.
“So, I came up with this idea, convinced Senator Elizabeth Warren to join me, and we drafted, and indeed passed, I’ll talk about that in a second, a bill called the Build Now Act. And it’s really very simple. It says, we’re not going to tell local governments how to increase housing starts. We’re just going to tell them if they do increase housing starts, we’re going to reward them with more CDBG money. If they don’t increase housing starts, we’re going to take some of their money away. Carrot, stick.”
Kennedy called on both President Biden and members of the House to advance the measure.
“Mr. President, if you’re listening, please endorse this bill. To my friends in the House, please bring this bill up and vote for it. It will work. We’ve been jawboning and talking about, oh, you know, the cost of living… This bill will lower the cost of housing in America, and it will do it under basic principles of free enterprise.”
Senator Kennedy represents Louisiana in the U.S. Senate and serves constituents through multiple district offices. He chairs a committee focused on banking and urban affairs and also serves on other key committees. His legislative efforts include policies benefiting veterans and small businesses as well as measures affecting national security.
He maintains offices throughout Louisiana—including Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans and Shreveport—as well as one in Washington D.C., providing constituent services such as assistance with federal agencies according to his official website.
