Rep. Vasquez Champions Construction Trade Training to Tackle Housing Affordability Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C.- On September 5, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)co-sponsored the bipartisan CONSTRUCTS Act, a bill to expand workforce training opportunities for New Mexicans in residential construction to ultimately bring down the cost of housing.

"New Mexicans are eager to work hard and build better futures for themselves and their families," said Vasquez. "The work training programs expanded by this bill will open pathways to prosperity for more New Mexicans, and I will continue to support commonsense housing solutions to ensure every New Mexican can afford a place to call home."

This bill would amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Actto establish a grant program supporting residential construction education and certification programs at community colleges, junior colleges, and trade schools - opening up pathways to good-paying jobs for more New Mexicans. Construction trades included under these grants include carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, and other in-demand fields.

Enhancing New Mexico's stock of affordable housing remains a top priority for Rep. Vasquez. He recently introduced legislation to crack down on greedy, out-of-state landlords and protect mobile home residents from predatory price increases with his Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act.

This also builds on the Congressman's ongoing work to make housing accessible for every New Mexican through the HOME Act, which addresses the housing crisis by allowing the HUD Secretary to prohibit sales or rentals at unjustified and inflated prices when appropriate, the Bipartisan Homeownership Opportunity Act, which offers tax credits to first time homebuyers afford their downpayment and to builders for constructing starter homes, and the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act, which provides a 20% tax credit to incentivize the conversion of empty commercial real estate into housing units.

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