Staff Reports
The Coalition for Affordability and Prosperity just put a clear chess piece on the board: a formal letter asking Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo to schedule a markup for S.3332, the More Homes on the Market Act. The ask is simple — move the bill out of committee and to the floor so Congress can fix a tax rule that hasn’t been updated in nearly three decades and is now locking homeowners in place.
What the Coalition wants — and why it matters
The Coalition’s Executive Director, Chuck Flint, told the committee the current capital gains exclusion for home sales hasn’t changed since 1997. S.3332, sponsored by Senate Finance Committee member John Cornyn, would raise the exclusion to $500,000 for individuals and $1,000,000 for married couples and index it to inflation. That tweak is aimed at reversing what Flint calls a “stealth tax increase on homeowners” that forces longtime owners — including retirees on fixed incomes — to think twice before listing their homes.
Housing supply and the “lock‑in” problem
Advocates argue the math is obvious: when people fear a big tax bill after decades of home-price gains, they stay put. That reduces inventory and drives prices up for buyers — the very affordability crisis politicians claim to want to solve. Raising and indexing the exclusion is a targeted nudge to get more homes on the market without a heavy-handed price control scheme. If you want honest policy, you change incentives; you don’t print mandates and hope for the best.
Bipartisan support — and the politics underneath
The bill already shows bipartisan traction in both chambers, with growing cosponsors in the Senate and more than a hundred in the House. The Coalition’s letter presses Chairman Crapo — who controls what happens in Finance — to act now. That’s smart timing. Affordability is the top pocketbook issue voters care about, and Republicans should seize the chance to offer a real fix instead of the usual political theater. If Democrats are serious about helping ordinary people, they’ll put down partisan talking points and join this commonsense change.
Objections, reality checks, and the bottom line
Skeptics point to policy analyses claiming most sellers wouldn’t pay tax even under current law, and that expanding the exclusion may mostly help wealthier households. Fine — but the behavioral “lock‑in” effect is real, and indexing the exclusion to inflation is basic fairness. Chuck Flint’s blunt line — “Let them keep their money. The government shouldn’t get a windfall” — is worth remembering. The Finance Committee can do something tangible to loosen the market. Chairman Crapo should schedule the markup and let senators vote. If lawmakers are serious about housing affordability, this isn’t the time for excuses or endless studies; it’s time for a vote.
