Democratic National Committee torn over primary campaign issues: Housing Crisis stands out

By Corinne Nicholas and Zoe Walker

Thursday afternoon, Harvard Model Congress’s West Wing was full of energy as passionate groups debated over which distressing American issues should take the Democratic National Committee’s top priority in the upcoming election cycle. Issues ranged from the housing crisis to foreign intervention in elections. Yet, one truly impassioned group stuck out.

The housing crisis has weighed heavily on the          lives of Americans across the country, ranging from rural to intercity areas. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as of July 2025, the average American home value rose by 0.3% over the past year, far outpacing income growth. This has caused nearly 42 million U.S. households to be  “cost-burdened,” spending  more than 30% of their income on housing costs. 

These alarming numbers have caught the attention of a select few members of the Democratic National Committee.

One member in particular, a New York native, attested to increasing home prices and the consequent homelessness in her local area. “It’s disheartening to see,” she said, “that’s why we’re really impassioned about it.”

DNC members collaborated to create visual aids for 

presentations

When asked how they felt about their upcoming presentation, another member stated that they were “feeling pretty good, pretty confident.”

This group of Democratic National Committee members attributes this crisis to a sad, but unfortunate truth of modern housing: price gouging, which is defined by Harvard Business School as when business entities artificially raise prices outside of the market value. This particular instance of price gouging comes from groups of billionaire landlords who buy up chunks of land to be rented out at exorbitant rates for their own profit, which limits opportunity and the American dream for the middle class.

Billionaires price gouge to maximize profits and increase monopolistic power. The Democratic National Committee wants to battle this with full force and help make housing more affordable for middle and lower class citizens.

Their solution? Limit these landlords and prioritize individual ownership by restricting millionaires from being able to purchase multiple properties to price gouge. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), price gouging is already illegal in over 39 states, but the Democratic National Committee wants to ensure that price gouging is stopped on a federal level.

Yet, despite their hard work, they can’t convince everyone in the Democratic National Committee to prioritize this issue.

Three other groups exist: Anti-Trust in Labor tech, Emergency Powers, and Foreign Intervention in Elections. Soon, the Democratic National Committee will take it to a vote to decide what they should focus their efforts toward. Make sure to keep up with the newest updates and see what steps the Democratic National Committee will take next.

The DNC’s members listed topics