Senator Smith knows that without a safe, affordable place to live, nothing else in your life works. Not your job, your health, your family, or your education.

All Minnesotans deserve access to safe, secure, and stable housing. That is why Sen. Smith is committed to addressing the housing crisis happening in Minnesota and across the country. In the Senate, Senator Smith is recognized as a leading voice in proposing policy solutions to fix the affordable housing crisis. She is the top Democrat on the Housing, Transportation and Community Development Subcommittee, and in that role has held numerous hearings and proposed many bills aimed at addressing homelessness, boosting the supply of housing, investing in rural and senior housing, eliminating health and safety hazards in homes, and fighting against private equity and other bad actors pushing up the cost of housing.

Sen. Smith understands that renters are struggling to find units they can afford, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and homelessness is on the rise. Unstable housing upends young people’s ability to learn in school, makes it hard for parents to hold down jobs, and has long-lasting, negative mental and physical health impacts. 

While the lack of quality, affordable housing affects all communities, Black and Native individuals, other people of color in Minnesota, seniors, veterans and rural communities, often face disproportionately difficult housing challenges. As a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Sen. Smith has been a champion for addressing the housing inequities that Native Americans and Tribal Nations face. In 2020, two of her bills related to Native housing became law: the Tribal Access to Homeless Assistance Act and the Native American Housing Affordability Act, which make it easier for Tribes to access funds to combat homelessness and secure mortgages on trust lands, respectively.

Sen. Smith believes it is important to both make improvements to existing programs and propose new, bold solutions. As a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, she has introduced legislation to improve fire safety in homes, support homebuyers in Native communities and address the legacy of housing discrimination. Her bipartisan Rural Housing Service Reform Act would make important updates to USDA’s housing programs and protect properties in Minnesota’s rural communities from losing their affordability. She co-leads the bipartisan Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reform Act that would cut red tape and streamline federal homelessness programs to help house people faster and more efficiently. Additionally, Sen. Smith’s Housing for All Veterans Act would permanently prevent and end veteran homelessness across the country. And her Homes Act would give millions of Americans the freedom and opportunity to build the life they want by creating over a million permanently affordable homes.

Senator Smith will continue to fight for measures like these until they become law because she believes everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to live.