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Legislative and Committee Impact
Appropriations Committees
The appropriations committees are important to funding of NAHB’s
pro-housing agenda and securing appropriations for NAHB’s
Research
Center. Members of the Appropriations Committees are
in very powerful positions; controlling the federal government’s purse strings.
House
Rep. David Obey (D-WI) will take the helm as
Chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, with Rep. Jerry Lewis moving to
Ranking Member. Rep. John Olver (D-MA)
will lead the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development
Subcommittee (T-THUD) and, while the Chairman’s gavel for the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations
Subcommittee technically passes to Rep. Obey, he is not expected to assume this
role. Instead, it is expected that
either Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), or Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will vie for the
chair.
On the Republican side, Rep. Ralph Regula
(R-OH), is likely to become Ranking Member of the Labor/HHS/Education
Appropriations Subcommittee—although it is rumored that he may instead become
Ranking Member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and Rep. Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) will be the Ranking Member on T-THUD.
With
Democrat control of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, we can
expect to see a renewed commitment to spending on domestic programs, and
several NAHB priority programs may receive increased funding, including housing
programs like CDBG, Section 8, and HOME. Additionally, programs in the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor,
such as Job Corps, are likely to see increases. Democrats can also be expected to look at increases in OSHA regulatory
and enforcement line-items.
The House Appropriations
Committee will have a several highly-coveted slots available in the 110th
Congress. With the departures of Rep. Jim Kolbe (AZ), Ernest Istook (OK),
the re-election loss of Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA), Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), and
the surprise re-election losses of Rep. Anne Northup (R-KY), and Interior
Appropriations Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Charlie Taylor (R-NC), there will be a
scramble among lawmakers to be appointed to these A-Committee positions.
The ultimate decision on who gets the assignments will be made by the sometime
in November or December by the Democrat and Republican leadership once the new
committee ratios are factored in.
Senate
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), fresh off another Senate re-election
victory, assumes the Chairmanship of the full Senate Appropriations Committee,
with Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) moving to Ranking Member. It is widely
expected that Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) will assume the gavel on the T-THUD
Subcommittee, and that Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) will move to
Ranking Member. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) is expected at this
point to head the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations subcommittee, with Senator
Arlen Specter (R-PA) moving to Ranking Member.
Much like the House appropriators, we expect that the Senate’s Democrat
appropriators will look to refocus federal spending priorities on many key
domestic programs, and we hope that this refocusing will help find funding
level increases for many of the housing and labor programs NAHB monitors.
However, with the federal budgetary situation remaining essentially the same,
the Democrats’ new priorities may not translate into extremely significant changes
in funding—even though many programs like HOPE VI may find themselves in
‘safer’ positions in the budget.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will
have two vacancies. With the re-election
losses of Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), and Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), these
two highly-coveted seats will be open and most likely will go to Democrats.
House Education and
the Workforce Committee / Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee
The House Education and the
Workforce Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee have jurisdiction over measures governing labor and education,
including, but not limited, to: workforce incentive programs, vocational
rehabilitation/career education, workforce wages and hours, and labor
standards, statistics, and Occupational Safety and Health.
Organized labor has traditionally had a significant influence over the
committee Democrats, while the Republicans have traditionally been opponents of
organized labor. Consequently, votes in this committee are usually along
party lines.
House
Chairman George Miller (D-CA)
will take over the Committee as Democrats re-focus Committee priorities on
several items in the 110th Congress. One of the first topics likely to be
considered is an increase in the federal minimum wage, followed by several
education-related bills: working to reauthorize the Higher Education Act,
looking at the status of the Federal Direct Student Loan program, expanding
Pell grants, and working with the House Ways & Means Committee to
investigate the costs/benefits of allowing taxpayers to deduct the cost of
college tuition. It can also be expected that the Committee will hold oversight
hearings on the status and quality of OSHA’s workplace enforcement program, and
that they may look into the status of several delayed OSHA
rulemakings. Additionally, with the likely failure of the Congress
to complete the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)—a
priority for HBI and many local HBAs who engage in workforce training—WIA will
be an early priority for Ed & Workforce.
Subcommittees of importance
include the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, which is likely to be
chaired by Rep. Major Owens (D-NY) in the 110th. Rep. Owens has
historically be critical of the construction industry’s efforts and record on
OSHA safety and health issues, and is expected to continue his critique as
chairman. The Workforce Protections Subcommittee has oversight over all
OSHA legislation. Additionally, the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee
Relations will be chaired by Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ). Chairman Andrews
has not traditionally been a supporter of Association Health Plans or Small
Business Health Plans (AHPs/SBHPs), and we can assume at this point that the
subcommittee, and the full committee, will not consider this legislation in the
110th Congress.
On the Republican side, Rep.
Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) will become the Ranking Member of the full
committee. Rep. Charlie Norwood will be the Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX)
will be the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee
Relations.
Ed & Workforce will need to
appoint a few new members in the 110th. The Democrats will have several
slots to fill, and there will be several vacancies on the committee. Rep. John
Barrow’s (D-GA) race is still in question, as a recount ensues; Rep. Mark
Souder (R-IN) suffered a re-election loss; and Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE) left the
Congress to run for governor. It is likely that the Republicans will lose
those two seats on the committee entirely, as the committee ratios are
re-shuffled.
Senate
Because organized labor has a
significant influence over the committee's Democrats, and Republicans have
traditionally been opponents of organized labor, votes dealing with employment
issues are usually very polarized, with a few exceptions.
Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy”
(D-MA) will become Chairman of the Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
Committee, and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) will become the Ranking Member.
Senator Patty Murray is scheduled to become Chair of the Employment and
Workplace Safety Subcommittee, but since she will likely take over as head of
the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development (T-THUD)
Appropriations Subcommittee, it is unclear whether she will want this
additional duty. Should she choose to forego leadership of this
subcommittee, the next right of refusal would go to Senator Chris Dodd
(D-CT). Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) will continue as Ranking Member of
the subcommittee, which handles most of NAHB’s labor-related, and OSHA-related
priorities.
A confirmed, and highly notable,
change in the Committee’s membership for the 110th comes with the departure of
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). With his departure from the
Senate, and the re-election loss of Senator Mike DeWine in
Ohio, two slots will be open on the
Committee. Democrats will see no turnover on their side of the dais for
the 110th, and may in fact add another slot on the committee now that they have
the Majority position and the committee ratios are being re-calculated.
House Energy and
Commerce Committee/ Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
House
John Dingell (D-MI) will take
over the chairmanship in the 110th Congress, returning to the post he once held
before Republicans took control of the House. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA)
will likely be the new chair of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, a
subcommittee of special interest to NAHB. Rep. Dingell’s energy agenda
includes reducing
America’s
dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil, expanding use of alternative energy
technologies, and increasing the use of bio-based fuels (hybrid vehicles,
etc.). Climate change legislation will likely also be a key issue this
session as a follow up to state initiatives, like California, that have set
caps greenhouse gas emissions. Extending energy efficiency tax
credits for home building that passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 now
fall solely under the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee moving
forward.
Taking over the chairmanship of
the Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, another subcommittee of
interest to NAHB, will likely be Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA). This subcommittee
has jurisdiction over brownfields, and we would need their support to move
NAHB’s petroleum brownfields provisions. Brownfields liability
legislation is up for reauthorization in 2007, so it may return as a priority
in the 110th Congress. Unfortunately, NAHB has not found a lot of support
among the democrats on the committee for moving narrow petroleum liability
protection for innocent developers. In fact, incoming-Chairman Dingell
has been adamantly opposed to our efforts. As a result, it is very
unlikely that Rep. Solis would support our efforts.
In addition, this subcommittee
has jurisdiction over the mold issue. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), who
authored mold legislation that would set exposure limits and federal building
standards will take over as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. This
Committee also has limited jurisdiction over mold. It is more likely now
that the Judiciary and Commerce Committees will cooperate and begin to focus on
the mold issue and indoor air-quality. This could be a significant
concern for NAHB.
Senate
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
regains control as the chairman of the Committee in the 110th Congress after he
relinquished it to fellow New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) in
2002. Sen. Bingaman has been a long supporter of caps on greenhouse gas
emissions and measures to reduce dependence on foreign oil and fossil
fuels. Last session, Sen. Bingaman supported green building legislation
that incorporated a mandate for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for
Homes (LEED), a position that counters NAHB’s support for voluntary and
market-driven standards for green building. However, Chairman Bingaman is
a supporter of tax credits for energy efficiency in home building and also sits
on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation to
extend the provisions for tax credits for energy efficiency in new homes that
passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. There will be several
new Senators on this Committee in the 110th Congress due to reelection losses
by Senators Conrad Burns (R-MT) and George Allen (R-VA).
House Financial Services
Committee / Senate Banking Committee
The House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking
Committee are the authorizing committees with jurisdiction over federal housing
programs, mortgage finance and financial services providers, including the
Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs).
House
The majority party switch in the
House will bring a new Chairman to the House Financial Services Committee in
the 110th Congress. The gavel will switch from retiring 109th House
Financial Services Chairman Michael Oxley (R-OH) to the committee’s former
Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-MA).
While Rep. Frank worked closely with Chairman Oxley on many
housing-related bills in the past, Representative Frank has indicated that the
chamber will have a decidedly different agenda in the 110th Congress.
Rep. Frank’s stated top priority for the committee will be on the issue of
affordable housing. He has already talked to Rep. Rangel (D-NY), the new
Chairman of the House tax writing committee, about beefing up tax credits for
low-income housing. Incoming Chairman Frank has also stated his support
for getting the federal government back into the business of building
subsidized housing. Should GSE reform legislation stall in the 109th
Congress lame-duck session, Representative Frank has indicated that he would
move legislation that looks very much like what the House passed in the 109th Congress.
Thus, a Democrat-written bill in the 110th Congress wouldn’t cap the amount of
mortgage-backed securities each GSE could hold in their portfolio’s and would
include a similar affordable housing fund to the one passed by the House in the
109th Congress. Other stated priorities for the Financial Services
Committee by the incoming Chairman include: legislation to crack down on
predatory lending, regulate hedge funds, and legislation to give stockholders a
vote about executive compensation.
Going into this election, we knew that there would be at
least six vacancies on the House Financial Services Committee (four Republicans
(Michael Oxley (OH), Bob Ney (OH), Mark Kennedy (MN) and Katherine Harris
(FL)), one Democrat (Harold Ford (TN)), and one independent (Bernard Sanders
(VT)). The 2006 election added to this number with the defeat of House
Financial Services members Sue Kelly (R-NY), Jim Leach (R-IA), Jim Ryun (R-KS)
and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The outcome of the race of one current
Republican member of the Financial Services Committee - Jim Gerlach (R-PA) - is
still too close to call. As with all new Congresses, the 110th Congress
will begin with much maneuvering as newly elected members fight for key
committees, and current members change committees or fight for key subcommittee
chairs. The Democrat takeover will also increase the total number of
seats for Democrats on the Financial Services Committee, while Republicans will
undoubtedly lose seats.
Senate
The majority party change in the
Senate will bring a new Chairman to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs Committee in the 110th Congress. The gavel will switch from
current Republican Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) to Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)
who, with the retirement of former committee Ranking Member Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD), is the panel’s senior Democrat.
Throughout the past several years
the issue that has dominated the Senate Banking Committee’s agenda has been the
regulation of the housing Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs).
Senator Dodd has stated publicly that he likes the bill the House-passed in the
109th Congress and will try to pass a similar bill next year. Thus, a
Dodd-written bill in the 110th Congress wouldn’t cap the amount of mortgage-backed
securities each GSE could hold in their portfolio’s and would include a
significant affordable housing fund component – a significant departure from
the bill passed by the Senate Banking Committee in 2005. While other
legislative priorities are less defined for Chairman Dodd, we can expect the
incoming Chairman to take a more active approach to housing legislation than
his predecessor Chairman Shelby did in the 109th Congress. Under Chairman
Shelby’s leadership the committee seldom addressed housing-specific legislation
with much public debate, choosing rather to negotiate privately with the House
on legislation passed by that chamber.
Going into this election, we knew
that there would be at least one vacancy on the Senate Banking Committee (the
retirement of Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), however the defeat of Rick Santorum
(R-PA) on Tuesday will add to this list. As with all new Congresses, the
110th Congress will begin with much maneuvering as newly elected members fight
for key committees, and current members change committees or fight for key
subcommittee chairs. The Democrat takeover will also impact the number of
total seats on the committee, which will now tilt to the Democrat party.
Judiciary Committees
The Judiciary Committees deals
with some of the most heart-felt issues in Congress and critical constitutional
issues. For example, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have
jurisdiction over private property rights, tort reform, and immigration issues.
Further, all federal judicial appointments must go through the Senate Judiciary
Committee for confirmation, which can be very politically contentious.
Generally, controversial issues have been decided along partisan lines.
House
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), who has
long served as the Ranking Member of the Committee, will takeover next year as
Chairman. He is a staunch opponent of NAHB’s private property rights
legislation, effectively ending any chance of revisiting the issue in the
House. Further, in the current 109th Congress, he authored mold
legislation that would set exposure limits and federal building
standards. We fully expect him to reintroduce this legislation in the 110th
Congress, but as chairman, he will now be able to advance that bill. This
will certainly be a significant concern for NAHB. Further efforts on
legal reform are unlikely, however, NAHB may be able to partner with Conyers to
examine the Fair Housing Act can be better used to promote the construction of
affordable and entry-level housing. It is also likely that NAHB will be
able to work with Chairman Conyers on more comprehensive immigration reform
legislation similar to the bill passed by the Senate in the 109th Congress.
In addition, the Committee
make-up will see some changes. Currently, there are 23 Republicans and 17
Democrats. These numbers will now swap, meaning several new Democrats
will join the committee while a number of Republicans will lose their
slot. Representative John Hostettler (R-IN) failed to win reelection and
will not be returning next year and Representatives Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Mark
Green (R-WI) both did not run for reelection. Finally, Representative
Spencer Bachus (R-AL) could leave the committee to take over as ranking member
of the Financial Services Committee. As many as eight new democrats could
join the Committee, while no democrats are expected to leave.
Senate
With the Democrats taking control
of the Senate, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will take over the reins of the
committee as chairman. Senator Leahy is likely to focus on consumer
issues—prescription drug pricing, gas pricing—as well as major national issues
such as terrorism surveillance and interrogation. Further efforts to
reform our legal system are unlikely, although he may attempt to revive an
effort to establish a multi-billion-dollar trust fund to compensate victims of
asbestos exposure.
In the short-term, it remains
unclear whether the Committee will seek to take up property rights legislation
during the lame duck session. Two property rights bills have been passed
by the House, one dealing with the Kelo eminent domain case, the second dealing
with access to federal courts, which is supported by NAHB. If the
committee is unable to move forward on access to federal courts legislation in
the lame duck session, the issue is all but dead with Senator Leahy as
Chairman. In the past, he has been a staunch opponent to NAHB’s private
property rights/judicial reform legislation and will attempt to block movement
of such legislation. However, NAHB may find in Senator Leahy an
ally to help examine how the Fair Housing Act can be better used to promote the
construction of affordable and entry-level housing.
Additionally, Senator Leahy is
likely to work closely with fellow Judiciary Committee member Senator Ted
Kennedy to push comprehensive immigration reform legislation again in the 110th
Congress. That effort is likely to be met with strong support from
Democrat leadership in the Senate.
There will be a significant
change in the Committee’s membership. Currently, Republicans have ten
members on the Committee, while the Democrats have eight. This will
likely reverse itself, with the Democrats adding two new members to the
committee and the Republicans loosing two. With the defeat of Senator
Mike DeWine (R-OH), one additional Republican will probably have to leave the
Committee. Current Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) should remain as the
ranking member of the Committee.
House Resources Committee
The House Resources Committee has
jurisdiction over the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Magnunson-Stevens
Fisheries Act (MSFA), domestic timber supply issues, federal land designations,
and water supply issues. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) will take over the chair
of the Committee from Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), who did not win
reelection. In past Congresses, Rep. Rahall has opposed NAHB-supported
Endangered Species Act (ESA) reform legislation championed by former Chairman
Pombo. Representative Rahall supported NAHB’s private property rights
legislation in the 109th Congress and we expect to be able to work with him on
issues where property rights are affected.
Representative Tom Udall (D-NM)
will most likely succeed Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) as chairman of the Forests and
Forest Heath Subcommittee. NAHB may find itself at odds with Chairman
Udall on NAHB’s policies on forest and timber issues. We may see the
subcommittee attempt to codify the “Roadless Rule.” Rep. Frank Pallone
(D-NJ) will replace Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) as chairman of the Fisheries
Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee.
We can expect this committee to
generally vote along partisan lines, with members who support property rights,
environmental reforms and economic growth squaring off against those who
support environmental protections and endangered species protections.
There are a few moderate Democrats on the committee who many times support
NAHB’s environmental policy. NAHB will continue to work closely with
these members.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
This committee has jurisdiction
over all modes of transportation, water quality and infrastructure and
brownfields.
Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) will
replace Rep. Don Young (R-AK) as chairman of this important House
committee. While the focus for this committee has always been the
reauthorization of TEA-21, with that piece of legislation not due for another
few years, we may see the committee focus on smart growth, air quality and
water quality issues. Although this committee does not enjoy the same
environmental jurisdiction as the Senate EPW Committee, the House
Transportation Committee, because of its large and diverse membership, will be
the big player in these issues. Further, NAHB’s storm water legislation
is under the jurisdiction of this committee. During the 109th Congress,
NAHB was unable to win the support of Chairman Oberstar on the storm water
legislation, which dims the prospects of movement in the 110th Congress.
Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-TN), the
champion of NAHB’s storm water legislation, is being replaced as chairman of
the Water Resources Subcommittee by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX).
Her subcommittee will have jurisdiction over wetlands and water infrastructure,
including storm water. NAHB was unable to secure Rep. Johnson as a
cosponsor of the storm water bill.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will
chair the powerful Environment and Public Works Committee, which has
jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the
Clean Air Act and transportation. From a NAHB policy perspective in the
110th Congress, this committee will legislate on wetlands jurisdiction, storm
water legislation, ESA reform and smart growth.
Under the leadership of former
Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK), this committee had a difficult time passing major
environmental legislation, such as ESA reform and Clean Air Act amendments,
because Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) routinely sided with Democrats to block
Chairman Inhofe's legislation. With the defeat of Sen.Chafee, the
Republican side of the dais will be more united, but as the minority party,
they will face an uphill battle when trying to stop any Democrat initiatives.
NAHB expects the committee to
conduct extensive oversight of the ESA, rather than attempt any reforms to
program. On storm water, NAHB has worked hard to craft a bipartisan bill
with EPW member Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE). We are hopeful that negotiations
with Sen. Carper's staff will be concluded before the end of the 109th’s lame
duck session, and that he, along with Sen. Inhofe, will be a sponsor of NAHB's
storm water legislation in the Senate. Having Sen.Carper on board is an
important condition for moving a storm water bill in the future. On the
wetlands issue, we could see an effort by the EPW Committee to pass amendments
to the Clean Water Act. Based on some of the current legislation, NAHB
would be in a completely defensive posture on this issue and would have to
spend considerable time defeating legislation that will be harmful to the
industry. Finally, NAHB expects to see efforts to pass federal smart
growth legislation, such as the Community Character Act.
One last wrinkle to the shift of
power: Sen. Inhofe may not become the Ranking Member of the EPW Committee in
the 110th Congress. Senator John Warner (R-VA) may exercise his
prerogative as a senator on the committee with more seniority to challenge Inhofe
for the Ranking Member post. Should Warner take the lead Republican spot
on the committee, it may make it more difficult for NAHB to move some of its
priorities onto EPW’s radar screen.
Tax Writing Committees
The Senate Finance Committee and
the
House Ways
and Means Committee has jurisdiction over tax issues, health care, social
security, trade and revenue measures generally.
Senate
With turnover of control of the
Senate to the Democrats, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for the
110th Congress is Senator Max Baucus (D-MT). Former Chairman Charles
Grassley (R-IA) becomes the ranking member. Numbers on the Committee will
also change as current Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Jim
Jeffords (I-VT) are retiring and Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) did not win
reelection. Because of new committee ratios, Democrats will be able to
add members to this panel.
Both Senators Baucus and Grassley
have established records of support for housing and housing incentives in the
tax code. They share many common concerns on tax issues and have a good
rapport on the Committee. One specific example is tax reform where both
the Chairman and Ranking Member support some type of reform of the code, albeit
for slightly different reasons. They share concern over the growing
impact of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), but Senator Grassley also has
serious concerns with potential abuses in the tax-exempt sector while Senator
Baucus is focused on closing the $350 billion “tax gap.” These and other
long-term fiscal issues could drive some type of tax reform in the 110th
Congress. Also, both would likely seek more timely passage or event
permanence of tax breaks that expire in 2007 (extenders). These extenders
faced a difficult path this year and have yet to be passed by the 109th
Congress, but Senators Baucus and Grassley will likely push strongly for that
in the lame-duck session.
On other tax issues, Senator
Baucus is not likely to support extending all of the President’s 2001 and 2003
tax cuts past 2010 or aggressively pursuing reforming the estate tax.
While he has made statements in support of estate tax reform, this is not a top
priority for him. Partnering with Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY),
the incoming Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Chairman Baucus could be
a strong ally on NAHB’s affordable housing initiatives on the Low Income
Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), Home Ownership Tax Credit (HOTC) and exit tax
relief. Both the Chairman and Ranking Member have supported NAHB on
establishing a Home Ownership Tax Credit (HOTC) in the tax code and we will be
working with them on this issue again in the 110th Congress.
House
The House Ways & Means
Committee will see significant change in the 110th Congress as the new Chairman
of the Committee is Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY). NAHB’s
relationship with Rep. Rangel will likely be a complicated one. On the
one hand, he will assuredly be a strong ally and partner on affordable housing
issues, especially modernizing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC),
establishing a Home Ownership Tax Credit (HOTC) and providing exit tax
relief. However, he does not support repeal of the estate tax or renewing
all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. In the area of tax reform, Rep. Rangel
has called for a “simpler, fairer and more responsible” tax code; leaving
essentially unclear what specifically that would entail. Time will
tell.
On the Republican side of the Committee, it is still unclear
who will serve as the ranking member. Following the announced retirement
of current Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) in early 2006, Representatives
Jim McCrery (R-LA), Clay Shaw (R-FL) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) all campaigned
for the Chairmanship, assuming continued Republican control in the 110th
Congress. However, Reps. Shaw and Johnson both lost their reelection bids
and it remains to be seen if Rep. McCrery wants the job of Ranking Member under
a Democrat-controlled Committee. It is also still unclear as to what
other candidates for this position will step forward. For his part, Rep.
McCrery is strong on NAHB issues and has expressed support in the past for
housing incentives in the tax code. Membership
on the committee will change significantly from the 109th Congress.
First, several Republican members did not win reelection, including
Representatives Clay Shaw (FL-22), Melissa Hart (PA-4), Nancy Johnson (CT-5),
Chris Chocola (IN-2) and J.D. Hayworth (AZ-5). Additionally,
Representatives Mark Foley (FL-16) and Bob Beauprez (CO-7) did not seek
reelection. On the Democratic side of the Committee Representative Ben
Cardin (MD-3) was elected to the Senate. Finally, Committee ratios will
change because of the Democrat takeover of the House, giving Democrats more
seats on the Committee
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