Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee drew attention on Thursday to the effect of low housing supply on prices.Labor shortages and supply chain bottlenecks induced by worldwide lockdown mandates raised input costs and thereby increased housing inventory shortfalls that have long plagued American would-be homeowners. Lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee discussed the phenomenon during their first hearing of the new Congress.“There just isn’t enough quality housing at prices that people can afford,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D‑OH) said in his opening statement. “And because there aren’t enough homes, renters, and homeowners are stuck paying more every month or living with peeling lead paint or leaks.”The housing market had witnessed a shortage of 3.8 million houses as of 2019, according to data from govern …