Access to safe, affordable housing is a basic human need, and a cornerstone of healthy, thriving communities. Yet across California, too many families are living one crisis away from eviction, unable to find housing they can afford near work, school, or childcare. Decades of underinvestment, combined with inflation, rising rents, and climate-driven disasters, have left our state and region in a full-blown housing crisis.
In Congress, I will fight for bold federal investments in rural and affordable housing, especially for low-income families, seniors, veterans, and farmworker communities. I’ll also advance policies that keep working families from spending a third of their income just to keep a roof overhead. We need durable solutions that create real equity and stability, not temporary patches: more homes people can actually afford, protections that keep our neighbors housed, and fair pathways to homeownership for the next generation.
In many Northern California counties, housing costs are rising faster than incomes, pushing families out of their communities or forcing them into unsafe, overcrowded, or unstable housing. Nearly half of renters in our region are considered “rent burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Teachers, home care workers, farmworkers, service workers, and first responders often can’t afford to live where they work.
Meanwhile, housing production hasn’t kept pace with need. Federal housing investment has declined over the past several decades, and rural communities in particular are often left out of funding formulas that favor large urban centers. Without targeted action, this crisis will deepen, exacerbating poverty, homelessness, and workforce shortages across our region.
Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to live, no matter their income or zip code. I believe the federal government has a critical role to play in addressing the housing crisis across the North State, and particularly in rural and under-resourced areas that have been historically neglected.
Rural communities have different housing needs than urban ones. We need solutions tailored to rural contexts: small-scale development, manufactured housing support, infrastructure upgrades for mobile home parks, and wraparound services for unhoused residents. I believe in meeting those needs head-on with urgency, creativity, and compassion.
As your Representative, I will:
Housing is a fundamental need. When people have a safe, affordable place to call home, they can build better lives for themselves, their children, and their communities. I’ll fight to make that a reality for every resident of Northern California.
