I participated in the Point in Time Count this January which brought thousands of volunteers from across the county out at 4am to talk to our homeless neighbors,  learn more about their stories, and collect data on their experiences. This critical event helps me better advocate for solutions, and it ensures San Diego receives its fair share of resources to address our homelessness crisis.  

The results were recently released and, for the second year in a row, homelessness has decreased in San Diego. Most notably, unsheltered veteran homelessness declined by 12 percent and transitional-age youth (18–24) unsheltered homelessness dropped by 26 percent. Local efforts to bring people off the street and offer shelter, supportive services, and more is making a difference. This is encouraging news and it shows that investing in proven solutions works to address this crisis. But more must be done to ensure every person has a safe, secure, affordable place to sleep every night.  

Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) enthusiasts know that the answer to solving the housing affordability crisis is relatively simple: we have to build more housing - every kind of housing, everywhere. There are countless examples that prove it works. For years, Berkeley built almost no new housing and became the most expensive college town in America. Then, they tripled the amount of permits issued for new housing units and rents returned to 2018 levels.  

The same thing is happening here at home, too. For a long time, San Diego was one of the most expensive places to rent in the country – once ranking as high as number 5 on the list. Sky high rents threaten our community’s prosperity. If our children can't afford to live here when they move out or our students can’t afford to stay here after college, our local economy will suffer. Thankfully, San Diego has built more housing units in recent years, leading to us dropping to number 12 on the list of expensive cities. Our county built 23.6 multifamily homes per 10,000 people from July 2024 to June 2025 - the highest per capita amount of any California metro area. Progress! Investing in supply brings housing prices down and makes San Diego more affordable for everyone. 

Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve been vocal about the need to build enough housing to keep up with demand and what the obstacles to that are. Read my 2017 op-ed on how California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reforms are necessary to allow us to build the housing we need. I’ve also championed policies to increase the supply of affordable housing, allow religious institutions to build affordable housing on their land, support building higher-density housing near transit, and ban income discrimination in housing. I founded the Congressional Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) Caucus to promote policies that encourage new housing development and the Build America Caucus to expedite infrastructure development. 

• Read more about who the three victims of Monday’s shooting were, including their heroism and sacrifice in the moments before they were killed.  

• For a local news update, read about the status of Balboa Park paid parking, City of San Diego trash fees, and more.