{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-bennet-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-increase-housing-availability-and-affordability/", "Cornyn, Bennet, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Increase Housing Availability and Affordability", "2025-12-03", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "TX", "John Cornyn", "C001056", "www.cornyn.senate.gov", "cornyn", "https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Steve Daines (R-MT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) today introduced the More Homes on the Market Act, which would make housing more available and affordable by amending the tax code to allow sellers to exclude additional funds from capital gains taxes, incentivizing homeowners to sell their homes and increasing market supply:\n\n\u201cThe American dream is rooted in owning a home and raising a family, but an outdated tax code not only prevents the next generation from being able to afford a home, but it also prevents seniors seeking to downsize from selling theirs,\u201d said Sen. Cornyn. \u201cThis legislation would update the tax code to incentivize sellers and make homes more affordable, and I\u2019m glad to support it.\u201d\n\n\u201cToo many families in Colorado struggle to find affordable homes in their communities that meet their needs. At the same time, seniors are struggling to sell their homes for fear of a massive tax bill,\u201d said Sen. Bennet. \u201cThis bill addresses this problem and updates outdated tax rules so more homes can come on the market and more Coloradans can find a place to call their own.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs Montanans grapple with historically high housing prices, the last thing families should have to deal with is enormous tax burdens when they decide to move. The More Homes on the Market Act will provide much-needed tax relief for Montana families, especially our seniors who have been living in their homes for years,\u201d said Sen. Daines.\n\n\u201cCalifornia is facing a significant housing shortage and in order to address this crisis we need to use every tool at our disposal to increase housing availability. This legislation is one such solution, easing the financial burden homeowners face when selling their homes in order to make more homes available for younger home buyers. The More Homes on the Market Act would allow homeowners to downsize without penalty, free up existing housing stock, and help bring the dream of homeownership within reach for more Americans,\u201d said Sen. Schiff.\n\n\u201cWyoming families who have spent decades in their homes shouldn\u2019t be punished with enormous tax bills when they decide to move,\u201d said Sen. Barrasso. \u201cThe More Homes on the Market Act is a commonsense solution that provides long-overdue tax relief. This will allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money while increasing the housing supply for the next generation of homebuyers.\u201d\n\n\u201cArizona families feel the housing squeeze every day. Homeowners who want to move or downsize are worried they\u2019ll get hit with a big tax bill,\u201d said Sen. Kelly. \u201cUpdating this cap will make it easier for Arizonans to sell and keep more of their savings, while opening up homes for young families.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe current tax code allows homeowners who sell their primary home to exclude $250,000 in gains from capital gains taxes, or $500,000 in the case of a couple filing jointly. However, this exclusion has not been updated since 1997 nor is it indexed for inflation. Because of this, millions of homeowners in Texas and across the country face overly burdensome taxes from the sale of their homes, leading many homeowners \u2013 especially seniors who have lived in their home for decades \u2013 to choose not to sell. The More Homes on the Market Act would increase the exclusion to $500,000 for single filers and $1 million for joint filers, making it more financially desirable for homeowners to sell and increasing housing turnover.\n\nThe legislation is endorsed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and AARP.", 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://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-bennet-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-increase-housing-availability-and-affordability/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.929687637835741, "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"}