HOUSING: Harder introduces new bill to force CA Housing Department to lower home costs

California leads nation in housing prices; Harder’s Bring Down Housing Costs Act would expand federal oversight of new state housing agency if housing costs continue to skyrocket

By Kevin Winslow, Communications Director, Office of Congressman Josh Harder 

WASHINGTON – Today, Monday, November 17, 2025, as California considers yet another housing agency, Rep. Josh Harder (D, CA-09) introduced new legislation to hold Sacramento bureaucracy accountable and stop housing costs from continuing to skyrocket. The Bring Down Housing Costs Act would establish a federal task force to investigate and conduct oversight of states failing to curb rising housing costs and develop emergency action plans to make housing more affordable.

Despite reforms, Sacramento’s housing bureaucracy is still an expensive mess: 

• Years of prioritizing process over outcomes has created a bureaucratic monster covering everything from horse racing and alcohol, while also in charge of housing reform.
• The state’s new housing agency, set to start in 2026, is already falling short of prioritizing the most basic housing reforms.
• Bureaucratic bloat has caused California to have the highest housing prices in the nation, making homebuying in the Valley entirely unaffordable.

“Our families are getting priced out of an affordable life in the Valley. We need real action, not another round of musical chairs by Sacramento bureaucrats,” said Rep. Harder. “My bill holds Sacramento’s feet to the fire and makes housing our #1 priority by bringing new federal oversight to yearslong chaos. If these out-of-touch bureaucrats continue to fail, they should be held accountable and fired.”

How the Bring Down Housing Costs Act cleans up Sacramento’s mess:

• New Oversight – Creates a new federal housing task force to investigate states with the highest rising housing costs.
• New Partnerships – Brings together representatives from across the federal government and housing experts for the first time to bring down housing costs in the worst markets.
• Emergency Plans – Issues emergency action plans and best-practice guidelines for states facing year-over-year median home price increases.

As a fifth-generation resident of the Valley, Harder is committed to restoring the affordable dream that brought so many families to our community in the first place. Harder is leading federal efforts to pass the biggest housing reform legislation in decades that would modernize outdated regulations, incentivize smarter land use, and build more homes.

Harder currently represents Discovery Bay in the Contra Costa County portion of the district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Based on the new district boundaries approved in Prop. 50, District 9 now includes Antioch, Pittsburg and portions of Oakley. The congressman plans to run for re-election in the new district.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.