Budzinski Unveils Affordability Agenda to Address the Cost of Living Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Vice Chair of Policy for the New Democrat Coalition, unveiled her Affordability Agenda — a bold, practical roadmap to lower costs for working families in Illinois’ 13th District and across the country. The plan focuses on bringing down the five core expenses straining household budgets: health care, housing, energy, family care, and everyday essentials like groceries.

As Vice Chair of Policy, Budzinski led the drafting of the comprehensive agenda, which outlines immediate and long-term solutions to address rising costs and strengthen economic security.

While President Trump and Republicans in Congress promised to lower prices “on day one” and “end inflation,” their billionaire-first agenda has failed to deliver meaningful relief. Instead, working families continue to feel squeezed at the checkout counter, at the doctor’s office, and in the housing market.

“Our affordability agenda takes on each of the challenges keeping people up at night,” said Vice Chair Nikki Budzinski. “We’ll lower grocery prices by taking on Trump’s tariff policies that drive up costs and supporting more competition, less consolidation in the grocery industry. We’ll cut red tape and modernize permitting to build four million new homes over the next decade, and we’ll finally create a national paid family and medical leave program. On health care, we won’t just extend ACA tax credits — we’re going to protect patients from surprise medical bills and stop aggressive medical debt collection. These are common-sense steps we can take now to deliver real relief for Americans.”

Affordability Agenda Toplines 

Groceries & Household Essentials

• Restore certainty by rolling back Trump’s tariffs and advancing smarter, durable trade policies.
• Support small producers and crack down on price-gouging corporations to increase competition in the food marketplace.
• Lower internet bills by restarting the Affordable Connectivity Program.
• Increase the minimum wage and ensure workers have a seat at the table.

Health Care

• Reduce monthly costs by extending ACA tax credits and expanding access to prescription price caps.
• Protect patients from surprise medical bills and aggressive debt collection.
• Expand access to care by fully funding Medicaid and strengthening Medicare’s guaranteed benefits.
• Increase competition and transparency while cracking down on fraud and abuse.

Housing

• Cut red tape and update permitting and zoning to build four million homes in the next decade.
• Level the playing field by eliminating unfair tax breaks to private equity and large investors.
• Utilize innovative construction technologies to accelerate home production.
• Build more affordable homes by increasing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations and community benefits. 

Energy

• Reform permitting rules to make it faster and cheaper to build energy transmission and generation infrastructure.
• Ensure energy is available and abundant by establishing a level playing field for all forms of energy.
• Reallocate electric grid costs to protect consumers from price hikes due to manufacturing and data center development.
• Invest in energy efficiency and home heating & cooling to lower residential energy costs.

Families

• Create a national paid family and medical leave program that covers all Americans.
• Support working families with expanded access to tax cuts and universal pre-K.
• Leverage federal resources and foster public-private partnerships to enhance care options and paid leave access.
• Invest in the home health and long-term care workforce to care for aging Americans.

You can read the full Affordability Agenda here.

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