Senator Coons files amendment to add his Housing Tariff Exclusion Act to housing bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) introduced the Housing Tariff Exclusion Act yesterday as an amendment to the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, legislation aimed at increasing housing supply and improving affordability nationwidethat the Senate is expected to pass this week. Senator Coons introduced the Housing Tariff Exclusion Act with U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) earlier this year.

Last week, Senator Coons voted with 95 of his Senate colleagues to begin debate on the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act, bipartisan legislation that packages several dozen legislative proposals designed to expand housing supply and reduce the cost to buy or rent a home - including Sen. Coons' Choice in Affordable Housing Act to cut red tape for landlords offering homes to families holding housing choice vouchers. By filing an amendment, Senator Coons is working to add another housing affordability bill - this one to exempt lumber, drywall, and other homebuilding materials from President Trump's disastrous tariffs - to the overall package.

"We need to do everything we can to bring down the cost of housing for American families, and it's shortsighted to pass a signature housing affordability bill that ignores one of the biggest new drivers of high costs: President Trump's disastrous tariffs," said Senator Coons. "The impact of cutting red tape to make it easier and faster to build new houses and apartments will be muted if the costs of constructing those units are inflated because of high tariffs on building materials. While I support the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, my amendment will improve this crucial bill, and I'll keep working however I can to making housing more affordable for Delawareans."

The Housing Tariff Exclusion Act would exclude homebuilding materials from President Trump's tariffs in order to lower the cost of building homes. If passed, the amendment would automatically exempt many homebuilding materials from current and future tariffs and create a process for importers to request exclusions for additional materials.

Following the Supreme Court's decision declaring many of the president's broad, cost-raising tariffs illegal, President Trump doubled down and implemented a new 10% tariff on global imports that went into effect last month. The new tariffs increase the cost of critical homebuilding materials, which will make it more expensive to build new housing and address the shortage of affordable units in Delaware.

The Housing Tariff Exclusion Act is endorsed by numerous housing and construction stakeholders, including the National Association of Home Builders, the National Housing Conference, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, Up for Growth Action, Third Way, Habitat for Humanity, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and the Housing Assistance Council.

For more information, see the bill one-pager.