Congressman Gomez Convenes Housing Policy Experts for National Summit on the Housing Affordability Crisis

By Libby O’Neill, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst 

Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) hosted a National Summit on the Housing Affordability Crisis on September 3 in Washington, DC. The event brought together housing policy experts and advocates representing renters, homebuyers, and various stakeholders in the housing sector, including homebuilders, construction workers, housing finance experts, lenders, Realtors, and community development professionals. NLIHC Senior Director of Policy Kim Johnson spoke on a panel, “Prioritizing Renters in Federal Policy,” and emphasized the need for large-scale, long-term investments in rental assistance, eviction prevention, enforcing tenant rights, and developing and preserving affordable, accessible homes for people with the lowest incomes.  

NLIHC Senior Director of Policy Kim Johnson, Cynthia Cuestas from the Council of Large Public Housing Agencies, and Nikitra Bailey from the National Fair Housing Alliance with Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY) at the National Summit on Housing Affordability Crisis on September 3, 2025. 

The event included a keynote address from Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and five panels moderated by Representatives Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Lou Correa (D-CA), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and Delia Ramirez (D-IL). 

The first panel, “Making the Housing Puzzle Work: Piecing Together a National Housing Agenda,” was moderated by Rep. Gomez and featured remarks from Emily Cadik from the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, Jeff DeBoer from the Real Estate Roundtable, and Will Fischer from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Panelists discussed the importance of addressing the housing affordability crisis from multiple angles, including construction subsides like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), more funding for rental assistance, addressing the capital needs of public housing, and making processes for developing new housing more efficient. The panelists also discussed innovative new solutions to the affordable housing crisis, including a renters’ tax credit like the one proposed in Representatives Gomez’ and Danny Davis’ “Rent Relief Act” (H.R. 6721), which NLIHC helped develop. 

Panel two, “Building and Marketing a 21st Century Housing Boom,” was moderated by Rep. Correra, and featured remarks from Lake Coulson of the National Association of Home Builders, Erik Forman from the AFL-CIO Housing Trust, Joe Harris from the National Association of Realtors, John Jones from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), and Bill Kilmer from the Mortgage Bankers Association.” Panelists focused on building more housing and the solutions required to create a new housing boom. Panelists noted the impact of the construction worker shortage, as well as zoning and regulatory barriers, on new home construction. Mr. Forman emphasized the importance of union labor for construction work, which results in better pay and safer construction sites for workers. 

Rep. Auchincloss moderated the third panel, “Kickstarting the Production of Affordable Housing.” Speakers included Marisa Calderon of Prosperity Now, Pat Cave from Enterprise Community Partners, Ryan Donovan of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks, and Lorraine Kindred from National CORE. They discussed the need for denser housing but remarked that such proposals are often met with pushback at the local level and emphasized the need for community engagement when planning for new rental housing. The panelists also talked about the advantages of off-site construction methods such as modular construction, which can significantly speed up housing production. Panelists also mentioned the need for Treasury to fully fund the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund, as CDFIs are specifically focused on financing affordable housing and community development. 

The fourth panel, “Prioritizing Renters in Federal Policy,” was moderated by Rep. Torres and included NLIHC’s Kim Johnson, as well as Cynthia Cuestas from the Council of Large Public Housing Agencies, and Nikitra Bailey from the National Fair Housing Alliance. Panelists emphasized the need for more federal investments in affordable housing, including preserving public housing by addressing its massive backlog of capital needs. Ms. Johnson raised the need for increased investments in rental assistance and discussed the impending funding cliff for the Emergency Housing Voucher program. Ms. Bailey called on Congress to fully enforce the nation’s fair housing laws and hold bad actors accountable, noting that we cannot address the affordable housing crisis without also addressing the fair housing crisis.  

The final panel, “Combating the Eviction and Homelessness Crisis,” was moderated by Rep. Ramirez and featured remarks from Steve Berg from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Peter Hepburn of Eviction Lab at Princeton University, and Noelle Porter from the National Housing Law Project. The panelists discussed the positive impact of the large-scale investments made in eviction prevention and homelessness resources during the COVID-19 pandemic on housing stability, especially for people who had been experiencing homelessness and were able to get connected to assistance.  

Read Representative Gomez’ press release on the event here. 

A recording of the event is available here: Part 1 and Part 2.