July 12, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 117 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H5770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR 
                                HOUSING

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the Trump 
administration's latest efforts to combat the skyrocketing housing 
costs in the United States.
  There is likely no State in the country feeling the ill effects of 
unaffordable housing more so than my home State of California. That is 
why I applaud the President's recent executive order establishing a 
White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable 
Housing.
  Over the past 20 years, there have been countless regulations 
implemented in California that make building a home so expensive that 
many people can no longer afford to buy them or even rent. The cost of 
building a home is nearly six times higher per square foot than it was 
30 years ago, due to uncompromising and often unnecessary environmental 
and safety regulations.
  I am glad there will now finally be a council tasked with looking 
into the true reasons behind these costs instead of continuing to offer 
Federal subsidies to simply mask the problem.
  In my home area of the First District, housing is a critical issue, 
with the loss of the town of Paradise and so many people displaced 
there and the housing that needs to be put in place back in Paradise or 
in surrounding communities to help these people. The mandates that are 
put upon them make it almost impossible to afford.
  I look forward to working with HUD Secretary Ben Carson and this 
White House council to examine and, hopefully, alleviate the housing 
crisis in California.

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