{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/larson-house-democratic-leaders-introduce-american-affordability-act", "Larson, House Democratic Leaders Introduce American Affordability Act of 2025 to Take on Cost-of-Living Crisis", "2025-12-19", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "John B. Larson", "L000557", "larson.house.gov", "larson", "https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. - Today, House Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) announced the introduction of the American Affordability Act of 2025 with Tax Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Thompson (CA-04), and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (MA-01). Their plan takes on the cost-of-living crisis squeezing families nationwide, with real solutions to expand affordable housing, lower energy bills, cut taxes for working families, help student loan borrowers, and protect households from skyrocketing healthcare premiums.\n\nIt includes Rep. Larson\u2019s Neighborhood Homes Investment Actand Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Actto expand affordable housing options, as well as his Hydrogen Production and Investment Tax Credit Actto spur the development of clean energy.\n\n\u201cAmericans across the country are getting squeezed by high costs everywhere they look, from energy bills to health care premiums, groceries, and rent,\u201d said Larson. \u201cTrump\u2019s cost-raising tariffs, cancellation of clean energy projects, and devastating health care cuts have only made it more difficult for families to make ends meet. While President Trump calls affordability a \u2018hoax\u2019 and pushes tax breaks for his billionaire friends, my Democratic colleagues and I are coming together with a real plan that takes on this cost-of-living crisis and cuts taxes for working families, not the wealthy.\u201d\n\n\u201cFamilies are doing everything right and still falling behind as costs keep rising,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThe American Affordability Act is about real relief for families: affordable housing, lower energy bills, more affordable childcare and healthcare, and bigger paychecks. This bill delivers targeted tax relief and smart investments that help families make ends meet and restores the promise that hard work should be enough to get ahead in our country.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile Donald Trump projects and dismisses affordability fears as a \u2018hoax,\u2019 Democrats have been and always will be at the front of the fight to lower costs for everyday workers and families. Tax Ranking Member Mike Thompson knows that whether it\u2019s tackling the housing crisis, making childcare more affordable, or lowering health and energy costs, we have so much work to do to ease the minds of the American people and foster opportunity. The American Affordability Act is a blueprint for the next step in our fight for what we are united to deliver: lower costs and easier, better lives,\u201d said Neal.\n\nThe American Affordability Act:\n\nExpands Access to Affordable Housing\n\nCreates the first-ever monthly Renter Tax Credit for individuals and families paying more than 30% of their income on rent and creates a First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit to help low- and middle-income earners\n\nCreates a new tax credit to bridge the gap between the cost of building or repairing a home and the home\u2019s value once it is built, powering the development of 500,000 affordable, single-family homes over the next ten years\n\nIncentivizes the conversion of vacant office spaces and other commercial properties into new housing, reserving at least 20% of new units for low-income residents\n\nIncreases the homeowner capital gains tax exemption to encourage more home sales and reduce the cost to buy a home, doubling the threshold to $500,000 for single filers and $1 million for joint filers\n\nLowers Energy Costs\n\nCreates a new 30% tax credit for long-range electric transmission to lower the cost of grid modernization projects, taking steps to prevent mass power outages and lower ratepayer bills\n\nRestores tax credits for homeowners to install home energy efficiency upgrades, solar panels, geothermal, and other cost-reducing power sources\n\nSpurs the development of American-made clean energy by providing a tax credit to companies that reduce carbon emissions by producing \"green\" and \"blue\" hydrogen and fuel cells\n\nAuthorizes tax credits to purchase new and used electric vehicles and electric bikes\n\nStops Trump Healthcare Price Hikes\n\nPermanently extends expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, protecting 112,000 Connecticut residents from sky-high premium hikes\n\nPrevents insurance providers from dropping vaccine coverage due to Secretary Kennedy\u2019s anti-science restrictions, including coverage for MMR, COVID-19 and Hepatitis B shots\n\nCuts Taxes for Families and Workers\n\nRestores the expanded Child Tax Credit for working parents, providing monthly payments of $300 for each child over the age of six and $360 for each child under the age of six\n\nExtends the Earned Income Tax Credit for adults without children and expands eligibility to cover working young adults\n\nPermanently extends tax cuts for tipped workers, and expands \u201cno tax on tips\u201d to include automatic gratuities\n\nExpands the $250 teacher expense tax deduction to include early childhood educators\n\nMakes Childcare More Affordable\n\nIncreases the maximum dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution from $7,500 to $10,000, automatically adjusting the contribution limit for inflation\n\nCreates a new $5,000 refundable tax credit to cover startup costs needed to open family childcare centers\n\nMakes the adoption tax credit fully refundable, opening the door for more low-income families to pursue adoption\n\nCreates a new tax credit to support working family caregivers\n\nHelps Student Loan Borrowers\n\nDoubles the student loan interest tax deduction for married couples, to $2,500 per person and makes any forgiven student loans tax-free\n\nExpands eligibility for the American Opportunity Tax Credit, to support students during the first six years of their higher education with up to $2,000 per year", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/larson-house-democratic-leaders-introduce-american-affordability-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0305449832230806, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}