Dear Friend,

This week brought a major step forward in tackling the affordability crisis — and another reminder of how harmful Republican policies continue to raise costs and strip essential support from Oregon families.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is now law, marking a meaningful advance in making housing more affordable. At the same time, we are observing the one-year anniversary of Republican legislation that cut food assistance and made life harder for working families.

Here’s what these developments mean for Oregonians — and what I’m doing to lower costs.

A housing law that favors families, not investors… 

The laws of supply and demand are simple. When supply is low, costs go up. In Oregon, we don’t have enough homes to meet demand, and that’s making housing unaffordable. Oregon is 140,000 homes short of what we need today, and over the next 20 years we’ll need to build more than 440,000 new homes just to keep up with demand.

To boost the supply of houses and help make housing more affordable, Congress passed a bipartisan housing bill. This bill focuses on increasing supply by cutting unnecessary red tape, incentivizing construction, and making it easier for families — not Wall Street investors — to buy homes. I was proud to support this bill, and it passed in Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.

But when the bill reached President Trump’s desk, he refused to sign it. He turned his back on Americans who are struggling with rising costs and want to own their own home. Despite Trump’s opposition, the law went into effect without his signature. I walked through what this means for households here in Oregon during an interview with Telemundo this week.

The cost of the Big Ugly Bill… 

One year ago, Republicans passed their Big Ugly Bill, and I keep asking one simple question to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who voted for it: Are the people you represent better off? Because the people I fight for are not. The Big Ugly Bill has left Americans everywhere sicker, hungrier, and poorer.

One in six Oregonians relies on SNAP to make ends meet. The Big Ugly Bill ripped SNAP away from 70,000 Oregonians, leaving hungry children, seniors, and veterans with nowhere to turn. Across the country, more than 4 million Americans have lost SNAP benefits, including more than one million children. 

And to what end? Republicans voted to cut SNAP so they could give bigger tax breaks to their billionaire donors, saddle our nation with trillions more in debt, and pursue an illegal war in Iran that raises prices even more.

What I'm doing…

I am holding those who voted for this catastrophic legislation accountable. As we look back on one year since the Big Ugly Bill passed, I spoke with KOIN, OPB, and Salem Reporter — to make sure Oregonians know just how devastating it has been for our communities. And I took to the House floor to call out my colleagues who supported it.

I am working hard in Congress to restore benefits and lower costs for working families.

• I’m a co-sponsor of the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act (H.R. 6088), which would restore funding to SNAP. 
• I introduced the SNAP E&T DATA Act (H.R. 4347) to strengthen workforce training programs and help SNAP participants move into good-paying jobs. 
• I voted against the House version of the Farm Bill because it failed to undo the SNAP-related harms caused by the Big Ugly Bill.
• I support the Feed Hungry Veterans Act (H.R. 2195), which would allow more disabled veterans to be permanently eligible for nutrition benefits.
• I support the Opportunity to Address Hunger Act (H.R. 3943) to help college students experiencing food insecurity get SNAP benefits.

Also this week… 

I joined the Progressive Policy Institute's Women in Policy Alliance for a fireside chat about space policy. As a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I know that space exploration drives scientific and economic progress that benefits all Americans. As we saw this year with the Artemis II mission, space exploration inspires us to come together in pursuit of ambitious goals.

But these noble pursuits have not been spared from the Trump Administration’s cuts either. In Congress, I am working to protect NASA and ensure that all Americans, regardless of their background, can contribute to and benefit from space exploration.

Contact me regarding this or any other matter at salinas.house.gov/contact. If you or somebody you know needs assistance navigating a federal agency, visit salinas.house.gov/casework for help. And make sure to follow me on X, Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram to get real-time updates on the work that I am doing for you!

Be well,




Andrea Salinas
Member of Congress