Biden’s infrastructure deal doesn’t invest in housing for Hawaiʻi

President Joe Biden has touted his infrastructure deal as a good compromise—a rare example of Republicans, who wanted $570 billion, and Democrats, who wanted $2.7 trillion, agreeing on a middle ground of $1.2 trillion.

However, there was no halfway spending on housing. There was nothing—no increase in funding for Native Hawaiian housing, no money to update Mayor Wright or other public housing, no rental vouchers, and no funds to build much-needed affordable homes.

In the initial proposal Democrats wanted $213 billion in housing, which would have secured affordable housing for thousands of Hawaiʻi households and rebuilt affordable homes built 30 years ago. It was erased entirely from the compromise bill.

Instead, the bipartisan agreement funds roads and bridges but not housing. This will not make Hawaiʻi more affordable or keep residents from leaving the state. It will not reverse the four-year trend of a declining population. In fact, it could launch the building of thousands of unaffordable investment properties while creating very few affordable homes.

Infrastructure funding without housing support will not solve the housing crisis. When the public pays for housing infrastructure—roads, sewers, and utilities—but does not invest in housing itself, we mostly end up with private homes sold to the highest bidder, not affordable homes.

An unfortunate example of this is Kakaʻako. In the 1980s and 1990s, almost $100 million in public funds were invested in sewers and other utilities. This enabled developers to build nearly 10,000 homes.