New Dems Host Stakeholder Roundtable to Address the Affordable Housing Crisis

September 09, 2026 New Dems Host Stakeholder Roundtable to Address the Affordable Housing Crisis Washington D.C. - New Dem Members hosted a roundtable with housing policy experts and industry representatives to solicit ideas on what Congress’s next steps should be to address the affordable housing crisis. New Dem Housing, Infrastructure, & Transportation Working Group Chair Norma Torres (CA-35), New Dem Vice Chair for Outreach Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Housing Task Force Chair Emilia Sykes (OH-13) hosted the roundtable. They were joined by 14 additional New Dem Members and eight stakeholders for the discussion. “Getting the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act into law was an important step forward, but the lasting impact of this law will depend on how effectively we put it into practice," said Rep. Norma Torres. "It's also critical that we look at what's next, which is why we put together this roundtable to hear from experts, stakeholders, and Coalition Members to kickstart work on further policy changes we need to make homes more affordable for our constituents." “New Dems are leading the charge to address our nationwide housing crisis. In the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, roughly half of the provisions were sponsored by New Dems or priorities from our Housing Affordability Agenda. While this law represents significant progress, our work is far from complete,” said Rep. Salud Carbajal, New Dem Vice Chair for Outreach. This week’s roundtable gave us an opportunity to engage with housing stakeholders and map out the next steps needed to build on the momentum we’ve created.” "As Chair of the Housing Task Force, I've seen firsthand how the affordable housing crisis touches every part of our country," said Rep. Emilia Sykes . "We achieved great wins in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, including provisions from my HOMES Act to rein in corporate investors who are pricing working families out of their own neighborhoods. But there's more to do. This roundtable was about listening to the people building, financing, and studying housing every day, so we can turn their expertise into the next set of solutions Congress delivers." This roundtable continues the discussion around affordable housing solutions following successful passage of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act earlier this year. This landmark housing package contained provisions from 22 New Dem Member-led bills and two New Dem proposals and delivered on many of the key objectives laid out in the New Democrat Coalition’s Housing Affordability Agenda . New Dem Members’ work to address the affordable housing crisis has become a cornerstone of our efforts this Congress. This roundtable expanded these efforts and was an opportunity for Members and guests to discuss what Congress needs to do next to build more homes quickly, expand access to affordable housing, make it easier for families to finance their homes, and more. Roundtable guests included: Lake Coulson, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Chief Lobbyist, National Association of Home Builders Nicole Upano, Assistant Vice President, Housing Policy and Regulatory Affairs, National Apartment Association Mike Kingsella, Chief Executive Officer, Up for Growth Dr. Lesli Gooch, CEO, Manufactured Housing Institute Libby O’Neill, Senior Policy Analyst, National Low Income Housing Coalition Tina Lee, Manager of Housing Policy, Economic Innovation Group David Garcia, Deputy Director of Policy, Terner Center at U.C. Berkeley Elayne Weiss, Senior Policy Advisor, National Association of Realtors ### Print Email Share Tweet