LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - At the State Capitol Wednesday morning, Senator Tony Vargas put out a call for action hoping to push his peers to address the cost of housing across the state.

Senator Vargas was joined by Senator Wendy Deboer as they introduced a pair of bills to make housing more affordable for all income statuses. They also addressed the lack of housing leading to safety issues in several communities.

As building costs continue to rise, tenants are struggling to pay, putting them at risk for eviction, ultimately leading to homelessness.

One of the bills introduced looks to provide a property tax exemption for qualified affordable housing developments, with the goal to promote that development.

Another would move $200 million dollars from the state’s general fund to the middle-income workforce housing investment fund.

The housing shortage at hand is partly due to the cost of building a home, which has also increased over the past couple of years.

“Most of the public are feeling the hurt right now in housing affordability, but not many of them actually understand the injustices and inequities that exist in the system as we speak right now,” said Vargas.

The Women’s Fund of Omaha also called for the importance of women’s safety in the housing crisis as their chance of eviction is 16 percent higher than men nationwide.

Senator Vargas is asking people to make their housing concerns heard to see a change.

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