COLUMBUS, Ind. – Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) was in Columbus on Tuesday and met with a group of Bartholomew County realtors as part of an ongoing housing affordability tour.
During a roundtable discussion at Hotel Indigo, the group talked about impediments to housing affordability, the lack of local housing inventory, and three proposed bills co-authored by Sen. Young that he says can help people buy homes and find housing.
Local realtors described how houses remain increasingly expensive, particularly for first-time home buyers.
The proposed legislation that Indiana’s senior Senator co-authored includes:
- The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which would create a tax credit for building and renovating homes in blighted areas.
- The Yes In My Backyard Act (YIMBY Act), to encourage localities to cut regulations and “require transparency in local land use, zoning, and housing decisions.”
- The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA), to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, providing an additional 44,500 units in Indiana, per Sen. Young’s office.
After the roundtable, Sen. Young discussed former President Donald Trump, Columbus-native Mike Pence’s run for the presidency and the EF-2 tornado that hit Johnson County last Sunday. Below is sound of Sen. Young followed by quotes in part.
On Trump:
“Hoosiers are highly skeptical that Donald Trump can assemble a coalition of 50 percent plus one and win again, especially in light of the fact that most everyone he’s endorsed has lost ever since he was miraculously elected in 2016 against a very weak nominee in Hillary Clinton and since that time he has lost the House, the Senate and the White House for Republicans, setting back the conservative movement. The last person to accomplish that three-peat was Herbert Hoover.”
On Mike Pence:
“I think Mike Pence would do an exceptional job representing our country and restoring a measure of dignity to the Oval Office, taking his responsibilities as Commander in Chief seriously and focusing on the brass tax of economic policy so that our entire nation can benefit from inclusive economic growth.”
On the tornado:
“I don’t know that any sort of disaster declaration will be declared in this case but we can be helpful playing traffic cop in our office connecting people with support and we’ll do that.”
On the prospects of the three bills’ passage and how the NHIA could impact Columbus:
“There are some real opportunities for this area as it relates to the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act in particular. We anticipate that there will be owner-occupants who will benefit handsomely from incentives that can allow them to remodel their own homes and benefit the entire community in the process.”
