Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive congresswoman for New York, has introduced a bill aimed at implementing an ambitious social housing program that would build millions of new homes using U.S. government funds.

Together with Tina Smith, a Democratic senator from Minnesota, Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Homes Act in the House of Representatives to combat the so-called “housing crisis” that has left millions of low-income people unable to find affordable rental housing. Smith introduced the bill in the Senate.

If passed, the bill would provide federal funding for millions of new homes and apartments that, by law, must remain affordable.

The initiative comes amid growing concerns as rising housing costs have become a key campaign issue in the upcoming presidential election.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris tried to solve this problem by requiring first-time home buyers to pay a $25,000 down payment – a proposal that critics say would drive up housing prices.

In their joint bill, Ocasio-Cortez and Smith propose establishing an agency within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to acquire real estate and equip apartments with explicit tenant protections.

In addition, rents should be set on the basis of tenants’ income and permanently affordable purchase prices should be prescribed.

The apartments would be run by non-profit organizations, housing associations or cooperatives.

“For generations, the federal government’s approach to housing policy has focused primarily on encouraging single-family homeownership and private investment in rental housing,” Ocasio-Cortez and Smith wrote in an editorial in the New York Times, arguing that the current system has left America’s 44 million private renters struggling to pay their rent.

They attribute the high rents and housing shortage to decades-old “restrictive zoning laws” and rising construction costs, which have resulted in insufficient new housing being created.

“There is another way: public housing,” they say. “Instead of treating real estate as a commodity, we can finance the construction of millions of homes and apartments that must remain affordable by law. Some of these would be rentals; others would provide Americans with the opportunity to build equity.”

The two argue that the model already exists in some European cities, including Vienna, as well as in some projects in Ocasio-Cortez’s hometown of New York and in St. Paul in Smith’s home state.

They cite New York’s Co-op City complex in the Bronx as an example and write: “It is not only one of the largest housing cooperatives in the world – with its own schools and a power plant – but also the largest naturally occurring senior living facility in the country, a testament to its financial and social sustainability.”

They cite research that shows their proposal could lead to the construction and preservation of 1.25 million new homes, including more than 850,000 for the lowest-income households.

“This is the federal government’s opportunity to invest in public housing and give millions of Americans a safe, comfortable, and affordable place to call home – with the sense of security and dignity that comes with it,” Ocasio-Cortez and Smith conclude.