Mayor Eric L. Johnson of Dallas took his turn on the national stage, bringing the fight against homelessness and the quest for housing affordability in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. In a candid conversation, he addressed issues often lost in political chatter and pressed hard for legislative action. As reported by the City of Dallas, Mayor Johnson's insights come from firsthand experience with housing insecurity and his tenure leading America's ninth-largest city.

In his speech, the mayor laid out two major misconceptions he believes are holding back progress on homelessness and housing affordability. Johnson pointed out, with the knowledge that comes from personal experience, "the overwhelming majority of the chronically homeless are not living on our streets because of housing affordability," as published by the City of Dallas. He called out the complexities of homelessness, highlighting mental health issues as the key driver, not solely the lack of affordable homes.

Johnson, who has actively worked to reduce barriers to home building in his city, advocated a strategy to lower housing costs that doesn't rely on federal programs. "Therefore, the most effective way to bring down housing prices is to encourage the private sector to increase home building," he stated, per the city's press release. To back this up, Mayor Johnson shared substantial progress made in Dallas, where a shift toward efficiency slashed the median time to issue a residential building permit from 68 days in 2022 to just eight days by 2024, as detailed in his remarks.

Johnson didn't hold back, urging Congress to step aside and let market forces take the lead, a practical approach he believes will address the affordability crisis. He strongly argued that injecting more federal money into a strained housing market won't solve the problem. Drawing from Dallas's experience, Johnson's message to Congress is clear: reduce bureaucratic barriers and allow private developers to build more homes to keep up with the city's rapidly increasing housing demand.