Former President Jimmy Carter says he would work as harmoniously as he could with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to secure more federal funding for affordable housing if he were back in the White House.

Carter made the comment on Monday at a construction site in Oakland, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, are commemorating their three-decade relationship with Habitat for Humanity by helping build a new 12-unit townhome development.

The former president said helping poor families live in and own decent housing is the best investment governments in the U.S. and abroad can make to reduce crime and improve quality of life.

Carter says Oakland is wealthy by the standards of most communities he and his wife have visited, yet a recent daylight holdup at the Habitat construction site demonstrates families are struggling everywhere.