Voter mobilization brought election wins for housing
in Tuesday’s elections, which bodes well for our legislative priorities in the 108th Congress. NAHB worked hard to keep our issues front-and-center with incumbents and challengers, and we targeted our resources in key races. Out of 28 BUILD-PAC supported Senate candidates, 25 won (with one race in Louisiana still to be determined by a runoff election on Dec. 7), for an 89 percent success rate. Results were even better in the House, where 323 out of 334 BUILD-PAC-supported candidates won, for a remarkable 97 percent success rate!

Bucking historical trends where the party in control of the White House typically loses congressional seats in a presidential mid-term election year, Republicans picked up seats in the House of Representatives and won back a majority in the Senate. This represents a significant victory for President Bush and the Republican Party. However, although the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, a careful look reveals a closely divided electorate and Congress. Democrats and Republicans each retain over 200 seats in the House and the Republicans have a razor-thin Senate majority. This means that building bipartisan support will continue to be essential as we work to achieve our legislative goals in the coming year. To check on individual races around the country, we recommend the following web sites: www.politics1.com and www.msnbc.com. Also, talk to our Legislative and Political Relations staff at x8470 for more.

Three big NAHB court victories
have truly given builders something to cheer about this month, including overturned critical habitat designations for the arroyo toad and fairy shrimp, expanded access to data on the pygmy owl, and a sign-off on new highway projects.  Here's what happened, and when:

• Oct. 30 — The D.C. federal district court struck and removed critical habitat designations that we had challenged for the arroyo toad and San Diego fairy shrimp, both in Southern California. As with other critical habitat cases we have won, the court vacated the designations and told the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to go back to the drawing board and re-do them based on sound scientific data. This should help bring some sanity (and restraint) to the habitat-designation process, hopefully keeping more buildable land open where it makes sense to build homes.

• Oct. 30 — The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld our earlier victory on transportation conformity regulations under the Clean Air Act. This action clears the way for planned highway projects in Atlanta to move forward, and derails the environmental groups' strategy of invoking the Clean Air Act to stop development.
  
  
• Nov. 5 — The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that FWS must tell Arizona builders and NAHB where endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owls may be found following a builder-submitted request under the Freedom of Information Act. With this ruling, builders will finally be able to obtain vital information on the location of any endangered species. Because we'll know better which areas to avoid, the decision will bring more protection for the owls and more certainty for builders. It will also keep new homes affordable for consumers by avoiding needless development delays and costs.  Neil Gaffney (x8495) can supply details on this incredible string of victories.

Another interest-rate cut
was the central bank's latest bid to jumpstart the economy and get this recovery on the road Nov. 6. Lowering the federal funds rate a full half-point, from 1.75 to 1.25 percent, was a fairly aggressive move by the Fed that should help spur more borrowing and investing. We think this was the right decision at the right time, because, while housing is holding up very well, other sectors are not enjoying such strength.  Read the latest analysis by NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders in the new edition of Eye on the Economy. [return to top]

Indoor mold doesn't stand a chance
when consumers use the handy information on NAHB's web site, MoldTips.com. We're pleased to announce that this great resource, first launched in June, is now available in Spanish!  What else, you might ask, can NAHB provide to address home buyers' concerns and take the heat off home builders?  As a matter of fact, our 15-page consumer booklet, Get the Facts on Mold, is hot off the presses and will be mailed to all Executive Officers this month. The pamphlet is available from BuilderBooks.com in packets of 10 and priced at a discounted rate for NAHB members. Get your free sample copy by contacting Rhonda Brown at x8061. [return to top]

Highlights of The Remodelers' Show
that just took place in Indianapolis are almost too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say, this $167 billion industry is on a roll, with NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders predicting that dollar volume will climb 5 to 6 percent both this year and next. Sponsored by NAHB and the NAHB Remodelors Council, the show is now owned by magazine publisher Hanley-Wood. Thousands of remodelers turned out for a bevy of educational seminars, while more than 300 exhibitors plied their wares to the enthusiastic crowd. Remodelers also paid homage to three industry greats by inducting Frederic F. Case, Ken Klein and Tom Swartz into the National Remodeling Hall of Fame. Contact Sean Downey at x8451 for more.  [return to top]

Building federal support for NAHB multifamily priorities
was the aim of NAHB's Multifamily Builder Action Team in a very productive Nov. 5 meeting with Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher. Among other successes, we secured Weicher's committment to work with NAHB as his staff reviews the model for determining FHA multifamily insurance premiums. Weicher also promised to review our proposal for a federal rental housing production program and ascertain whether FHA could insure lower floater loans as a component of that proposal. On the subject of FHA multifamily loan limits, Weicher said he supports our priority of indexing the limits to inflation, though he is not yet committed to considering an increase in high-cost areas. He was also receptive to our members' concerns about the difficulty of using FHA insurance for small multifamily projects, promising to follow up with us on this matter. Dave Ledford knows more at x8265. [return to top]