Congressman Sanford Bishop decries Trump Administration’s housing policies at Realtor’s breakfast

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) —  Realtors and politicians on Wednesday from across the Chattahoochee Valley gathered in Columbus for a legislative breakfast. 

The keynote speaker was Democratic Congressman Sanford Bishop. WRBL News 3 was in attendance at Green Island Hills Country Club in Columbus.

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Bishop used the forum to make a statement about the state of politics and how regulatory changes in Washington, D.C. could impact those selling homes on Main Street. 

He believes it could diminish the “American dream” – homeownership. And he blames it on the current political climate. 

“When I got to Washington in 1993, there was collegiality. Where that has gone and where we are now takes us into a very, very bad place,” Bishop said.

As a 17-term Democrat, Bishop is in the minority in Washington, D.C., which is controlled by a Republican majority. 

“Well, I just came to tell the truth. I was speaking to the Columbus Board of Realtors, whose mission is homeownership. Making homeownership available, affordable for the people in this market,” Bishop said.

“Yes, he got up and pretty much told it like it was from his perspective. As a longtime member of Congress, it is pretty insightful about what I felt is legislation that has gone before and passed and what is coming up now. He’s very strong in his opinions and beliefs,” said Steve Register, federal political coordinator for the National Association of Realtors.

Bishop decried the Trump Administration’s dismantling of funding and programs that he says help people purchase affordable homes. 

“They need to know the policies being undertaken in Washington is undermining that mission,” Bishop said.

The message didn’t sit well with Randy Robertson, a Republican state senator and majority whip. 

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“Unfortunately, it’s the same speech being given by Democrats throughout our country and Washington, D.C. Where basically they try to take a subject matter to let their solution be socialism,” Robertson said.

“If that’s some socialism, I don’t know. But I think that’s what the people I represent want. They want a better quality of life,” Bishop said.

It was a bipartisan room and the congressman had his message and platform as he didn’t back down.