This story is being updated as more dates are being announced.
Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced Monday that he is kicking off a bus tour called Driving Affordable Housing Across America.
The tour will kick-off in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday, and make stops in various local communities for events and discussions focused on the need for increased affordable housing, a press release said.
“In our efforts to alleviate the unnecessary regulatory barriers to housing construction and development, it’s important that we get out into local communities and hear directly from our fellow citizens who are grappling with rising housing prices and learn more about best practices to address them,” Carson said in a release.
“Families, businesses and all levels of government have concerns about the rising cost of housing, and this is an opportunity to bring those parties to the table for a discussion about how we can work together to fix the problem.”
This bus tour is part of the work Secretary Carson is undertaking as the Chair of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing.
The chair position is part of Executive Order 13878, “Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing,” which was signed by President Trump last summer.
The order was signed because, for many Americans, the supply of available housing has not kept pace with the demand for housing by prospective renters and homebuyers, driving up housing costs, the release said.
“Regulations are often necessary to protect the health and safety of American citizens, such as clean air, water or disaster mitigation practices,” the release said. “However, outdated and overly burdensome, time-consuming, and costly regulatory requirements and restrictions prolong the completion of new housing supply and those costs are shifted to the consumer, particularly in tight markets.”
Carson, who was appointed as secretary of HUD by Trump in 2017, will be on tour through June.
The following are tour dates as they are announced:
- Jan. 29; Louisville, Kentucky
- Jan. 29; Nashville, Tennessee
- Jan. 30; Russellville, Alabama
- Feb. 12; Riverside, California
- Feb. 12; San Diego
- Feb. 13; Los Angeles
