Rep. McClain Delaney Unveils ‘Costs Down, Opportunity Up’ Affordability Agenda

The Congresswoman’s agenda aims to lower prices, expand opportunity, advance Medicare for All, build more homes, and ensure everyone pays their fair share

On Tuesday, February 17, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney (MD-06) released her Costs Down, Opportunity Up agenda–a bold and comprehensive approach to lower everyday costs and create more opportunities for hard-working families in Maryland’s Sixth District. She announced the agenda as she began a week of district meetings with more than a dozen community groups including youth nonprofits, housing authorities, food distribution centers, health and medical facilities, city and county officials, and others.

“The Trump Administration has turned its back on everyday Americans, driving up prices and handing tax breaks to the wealthy. The Costs Down, Opportunity Up agenda reflects my unwavering commitment to building an economy that works for everyone in the Sixth District by lowering everyday costs, building more homes, expanding healthcare access and opportunity, and restoring fairness so working families can get ahead,” said McClain Delaney. “Business as usual must end. We need a whole new approach for the working class and economic fairness–I will fight for these policies and against anyone who stands in the way.”

About the Costs Down, Opportunity Up Agenda

The agenda invests directly in people by:

Lowering the cost of everyday expenses;
Making health care universal and affordable;
Making housing affordable for homeowners and renters alike;
Addressing costs facing families raising children and caring for aging parents;
Ensuring that big tech companies and data centers can’t take advantage of communities and their resources;
Unlocking jobs and opportunities for upward mobility and entrepreneurship; and
Ending corruption and creating a tax system that requires everyone to pay their fair share.

“These policies mean more families will be able to afford childcare, groceries, housing, and health care, and more Americans will be able to pursue education, start businesses, and save for retirement,” said McClain Delaney. “I’m ready to work with my colleagues in Congress and my partners in Maryland 6th and fight for each one of them.”

The Congresswoman recently held a series of county convenings in all five of the counties in her district to meet the moment of major transformation with diverse stakeholders. This agenda is shaped by those discussions with public and private stakeholders.

The Costs Down, Opportunity Up Agenda is Built on Seven Core Pillars

1) Lowering Costs for Working Americans

Since Trump took office, Marylanders have not been able to keep pace with crushing costs. Electricity bills have risen 13% across the country and the cost of groceries are confounding. In the Sixth District, families are choosing between putting food on the table, rent and utilities – this is unacceptable. These pressures come as 680,000 Marylanders, who rely on SNAP benefits, risk losing access as a result of the Trump administration. Rep. McClain Delaney’s plan takes on the biggest drivers of household expenses by:

Rolling back inflation-causing tariffs imposed under Donald Trump that have raised prices on everyday goods and acted as a hidden tax on American families.
Cracking down on junk fees and preventing AI-driven price hikes across the economy, building on proposals to ban excessive and hidden fees on banking, finance, travel, and commerce.
Bringing down the costs of groceries by supporting family farms, investing in small producers, and preventing dynamic pricing of food supplies.
Reversing harmful cuts to SNAP by building on the Congresswoman’s work on the House Agriculture Committee because 1 in 9 families in the Sixth District depend on food assistance and many Maryland farmers and small grocers participate in SNAP.
Supporting rural connectivity, by reauthorizing the Affordable Connectivity Program, to provide discounts on broadband services.
Lowering the cost of energy bills, by investing in cost-saving solutions and stopping utility monopolies from pushing through unwarranted rate hikes.
Fully funding the Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), so Marylanders can afford to heat their homes in the winter and keep the lights on during extreme heat.

2) Health Care for Everyone

The Trump administration has made health care more expensive for Americans. Rep. McClain Delaney’s agenda supports her belief that health care is a human right by:

Making health care accessible, by working alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal to advance Medicare For All, which will guarantee affordable health care for every American, end surprise medical bills, and put people over profits.
Protecting the 190,000 Marylanders who relied on the Affordable Care Act by strengthening health coverage and extending the ACA Premium Tax Credits.
Strengthening Medicare’s authority to negotiate lower drug prices, extend the annual out-of-pocket cap on prescriptions.
Breaking up health care monopolies that take advantage of patients from the doctor’s office to the pharmacy.
Restoring and expanding federal funding in groundbreaking biomedical research for our research agencies that employ many 6th District residents, as well as the many entrepreneurs and small businesses who build on that foundational research.

3) Build 5 Million Homes to Help Make Housing Affordable for Homeowners and Renters

Today, the average home in America costs approximately $400,000, requiring a household income of over $100,000, while the median American household earns closer to $80,000. At the core of Rep. McClain Delaney’s agenda is a federally incentivized national strategy to address the housing shortage by building 5 million new homes nationwide. By increasing supply, the plan would reduce rents, expand homeownership opportunities, stabilize communities, and enhance purchasing power. To accelerate housing production, Rep. McClain Delaney is calling for:

Slashing red tape through federal incentives to drive local regulatory reform, including modernizing permitting, zoning, and approval processes that have slowed construction and increased costs, to make it easier to quickly build housing units where people need them. These reforms will increase accountability and prevent price gouging by home builders.
Creating federal incentives so that local governments take more responsibility for creating affordable housing and engage in innovative public-private partnerships.
Expanding access to affordable housing by generating fees to fund a twenty-fold increase in revenues for the Housing Trust Fund. This will dramatically unlock more resources for affordable housing and correct chronic underfunding.
Building more affordable housing near public transportation. Transit isn't just about accessibility; it is about affordability.
Driving innovation in construction, renovation and development by supporting research agencies like NIST and funding federal grants to develop faster, stronger, and more resilient homes—making quality housing more affordable for families.

4) Helping Families

As costs for raising children and caring for aging parents drain household budgets, Rep. McClain Delaney’s agenda will help families access affordable care by:

Funding Universal Pre-K and early childhood education programs so every child can learn and grow while offering flexibility for parents.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit instead of tax breaks for the wealthy so more working families keep more of what they earn and we can reduce child poverty.
Offering childcare and paid leave subsidies so parents both get a break and can start businesses without risking their family’s stability.
Incentivizing new childcare providers to enter the market through low-interest loans for facility renovations and home-based childcare.
Providing tax credits for expenses related to family caregiving so that caring for elderly, disabled, and sick relatives does not drain savings.
Creating a senior care cost reduction program to provide a stipend to low-income seniors for assisted living expenses.
Expanding key elements of Social Security to supplement our seniors who may be living on a fixed income.
Making home and community-based services (HCBS) available for individuals with long-term care needs who are ineligible for Medicaid. 35 percent of Maryland 6th District’s residents are 50 or older.

5) Preparing America for the Future and Holding Big Tech Accountable

Rep. McClain Delaney is focused on making sure that large tech developers and platforms operate responsibly, treat workers fairly, and pay for the community resources and utilities they use. Her agenda calls for:

Setting meaningful restrictions and regulations on AI’s ability to collect personal data to send users predatory online ads. In the 21st century, data is power. Tech companies should not be allowed to harvest Americans’ personal data with simple “one click” privacy agreements.
Creating workforce training and retraining programs to help American workers scale up with emerging technologies in a new AI-economy.
Banning the use of AI-driven dynamic pricing by massive corporations to target consumers with higher prices based on zip code, demand, and estimated income.
Redesigning the safety net for a future impacted by disruption and change so that hardworking Americans are protected.
Making sure data centers pay their fair share, peak demand electrons flowing to data centers should be subject to an excise fee, which will be 100% rebated to consumers – this will lower consumer energy prices and encourage “behind the meter” clean energy at data centers.

6) Creating More Jobs, Opportunities and Startups

Rep. McClain Delaney’s agenda also focuses on fighting for workers, unlocking entrepreneurship and upward mobility to renew the American Dream through:

Expanding HUB zones — including in Western Maryland — to provide incentives for businesses to locate and hire in underserved communities.
Strengthening antitrust enforcement so big corporations can’t squeeze out startups through predatory pricing, platform control, or anti-competitive acquisitions.
Raising wages and fighting unfair labor practices. The shamefully low Federal Minimum Wage must be raised. Our labor standards and unions must also be strengthened to better reflect productivity and prevent AI disruption from being unfairly borne by workers.
Supporting student debt relief paired with subsidies for community college and vocational training.
Making new business formation easier by reducing red tape and expanding early-stage funding programs through reimagining SBA and SBIC funding programs.
Building communication, energy, and transportation infrastructure, including clean energy infrastructure needed to address climate change, to ensure America can compete for the best jobs in the world.

7) Paying for it Fairly, Ending Corruption and Taking on Bad Actors

Rep. McClain Delaney’s agenda can be fully paid for by restoring balance to the tax code in the following ways:

Closing corporate tax loopholes that allow large companies to shift profits offshore and otherwise avoid their fair share of taxes.
Implementing the Buffett Rule by closing loopholes for private equity and hedge funds that let wealthy investors pay lower effective tax rates than teachers and firefighters.
Modernizing our broken tax system so the billionaire class pays their fair share and everyday Americans get a fair shot.
Tackling the unchecked corporate greed and corruption of monopolistic billionaires that deprives everyday Americans a say in their economic future.

Congresswoman McClain Delaney’s Costs Down, Opportunity Up agenda is a response to conversations she has had in every corner of Maryland's Sixth District. From Cumberland to Gaithersburg, families have shared stories about unsustainable costs of living, and how they feel like their kids don’t have a fair shot.

“The Trump administration has slashed jobs, health care, and services for working families while handing the top 1% the largest tax break in our nation’s history. It is time for corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share. At a time when families are being squeezed by high prices, unfair fees, and an economic system stacked against them, Washington needs to deliver real relief,” said Rep. McClain Delaney.

"The Costs Down, Opportunity Up agenda is big, bold, and contains specific and detailed policies that change our economic system to put people first–lowering costs, opening doors to opportunity, and restoring basic fairness to our tax system. I will be working with local elected officials, community leaders in Maryland’s Sixth and my colleagues in Congress to deliver these results as part of a Democratic-led agenda for the people. We need less talk and more action–and the courage to stand for something,” said Rep. McClain Delaney.

Issues: Congress Economy