Housing, healthcare need less red tape to lower costs: Hickenlooper

The housing bill that just became law doesn’t go far enough to bring down U.S. costs, and lawmakers at all levels of governments need to do more, Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., told CNBC.

Hickenlooper, a onetime presidential candidate who says he isn’t running again in 2028, spoke with CNBC on the sidelines of an event in Denver. He highlighted housing and healthcare as policy areas where consumers would benefit from governments changing how they interact with the industries.

Areas like affordable housing need not only limits on private equity players, as the new law does, but also fewer administrative hurdles and fewer ways for opponents to stop needed development, Hickenlooper said on the sidelines of an event for Su Teatro, a Chicano theater company that’s been in Denver for decades. He lamented that housing opponents have too easy of a road to delaying development.

“We’ve given every anybody who wants to raise a finger all the tools they need to stop the housing development in its tracks, and they can litigate. They can do this. They have all these all these processes that really add cost to the homes,” Hickenlooper said.

Hickenlooper issued his prescriptions for what ails the country as a first-term senator representing a state that’s home to one of the most competitive U.S. House races. He began his career as a geologist before starting a brewery business in downtown Denver, then becoming the city’s mayor, Colorado governor and now a senator. He declared a run for president in 2020, but dropped out before any primaries took place.

The CNBC All-America Economic Survey found that housing costs are the top issue of concern for voters ages 18 to 34.

Hickenlooper pointed to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as a potential template for streamlining homebuilding, as it has one building code for the entire region.

“If you’re going to include some affordable housing in your housing project, here’s a superfast zoning/building development setup code,” he said.

On Immigration and Customs Enforcement: The conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as President Donald Trump has focused on illegal immigration is resonating in Colorado.

“Depending on where you are in this community – we’re 30% Latino here – just mention ICE, right?” he said, noting recent deaths at the hands of ICE agents or employees. “People in this community are going nuts.”

On healthcare costs: He noted costs in the sector increase significantly every year and said pricing is opaque and price comparisons difficult to enact. He cited a 2019 American Medical Association study that characterized about a quarter of…