Builders urge Congress to support affordable housing
Roughly 700 builders converged on Capitol Hill for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2019 Legislative Conference.
The number one item on the June 5 agenda was urging lawmakers to support policies that will increase the production of quality, affordable housing while continuing to move housing recovery forward.
“With housing affordability near a 10-year low, we are sending a loud and clear message to members of Congress that there is an urgent need to implement innovative solutions to ease the nation’s affordability woes and enable more families to achieve home ownership or have access to suitable rental housing,” said NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde, a home builder and developer from Torrington, Conn.
Earlier this month, the NAHB said cutting back on costly regulations could provide a boost to housing affordability.
About 300 individual meetings took place between builders, representatives and senators.
In addition to housing affordability, topics discussed included the workforce and immigration.
According to the NAHB, a chronic labor shortage in the housing industry is resulting in higher construction costs, increased home prices and lower economic growth. The NAHB has asked lawmakers to create a new, market-based guest worker program for the construction sector that will complement ongoing vocational training efforts and help fill labor gaps. Lawmakers were also encouraged to increase funding for job training programs to prepare individuals for careers in home building.
Builders also asked lawmakers to call on the administration to end tariffs on imports of softwood lumber, steel, aluminum and a wide variety of other goods used by the home building industry that are needlessly raising housing costs. NAHB has called on Congress to ensure swift ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which holds the potential to lift the housing economy.
The NAHB also called on Congress to pass bipartisan housing finance legislation that would reform the current system and provide certainty to the marketplace, while maintaining an appropriate level of government support for housing in all economic and financial conditions.
Additionally, the NAHB said that it wants lawmakers to pass the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. Introduced in the House and Senate earlier this week, the bipartisan legislation would improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit by establishing a permanent minimum 4 percent credit floor for acquisition and bond-financed projects. This would provide more flexibility in financing projects and significantly increase unit production.
The National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association is also backing the tax credit legislation.
Other issues discussed include the National Flood Insurance Program, building energy codes, and cluster mailboxes.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has instituted a mandate requiring mail delivery to cluster mailbox units in new residential developments. The NAHB said it believes any reform effort for the USPS should not be funded by home builders and home owners. NAHB has asked House lawmakers to co-sponsor a sense of the House resolution (H. Res. 23) that calls on the USPS to preserve delivery of mail to the home or business.
The number one item on the June 5 agenda was urging lawmakers to support policies that will increase the production of quality, affordable housing while continuing to move housing recovery forward.
“With housing affordability near a 10-year low, we are sending a loud and clear message to members of Congress that there is an urgent need to implement innovative solutions to ease the nation’s affordability woes and enable more families to achieve home ownership or have access to suitable rental housing,” said NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde, a home builder and developer from Torrington, Conn.
Earlier this month, the NAHB said cutting back on costly regulations could provide a boost to housing affordability.
About 300 individual meetings took place between builders, representatives and senators.
In addition to housing affordability, topics discussed included the workforce and immigration.
According to the NAHB, a chronic labor shortage in the housing industry is resulting in higher construction costs, increased home prices and lower economic growth. The NAHB has asked lawmakers to create a new, market-based guest worker program for the construction sector that will complement ongoing vocational training efforts and help fill labor gaps. Lawmakers were also encouraged to increase funding for job training programs to prepare individuals for careers in home building.
Builders also asked lawmakers to call on the administration to end tariffs on imports of softwood lumber, steel, aluminum and a wide variety of other goods used by the home building industry that are needlessly raising housing costs. NAHB has called on Congress to ensure swift ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which holds the potential to lift the housing economy.
The NAHB also called on Congress to pass bipartisan housing finance legislation that would reform the current system and provide certainty to the marketplace, while maintaining an appropriate level of government support for housing in all economic and financial conditions.
Additionally, the NAHB said that it wants lawmakers to pass the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. Introduced in the House and Senate earlier this week, the bipartisan legislation would improve the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit by establishing a permanent minimum 4 percent credit floor for acquisition and bond-financed projects. This would provide more flexibility in financing projects and significantly increase unit production.
The National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association is also backing the tax credit legislation.
Other issues discussed include the National Flood Insurance Program, building energy codes, and cluster mailboxes.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has instituted a mandate requiring mail delivery to cluster mailbox units in new residential developments. The NAHB said it believes any reform effort for the USPS should not be funded by home builders and home owners. NAHB has asked House lawmakers to co-sponsor a sense of the House resolution (H. Res. 23) that calls on the USPS to preserve delivery of mail to the home or business.