August is an opportune time for NAHB's 200,000 members to reach out to their congressional representatives as lawmakers return to their home districts for the summer recess. Recognizing the critical need to take advantage of this opportunity in order to ensure that the first flickerings of recovery in the housing market and economy aren't extinguished, our message will focus on four aspects of the housing crisis. Specifically, we will be calling on Congress to:

• Extend the home buyer tax credit for another year and make it available to all eligible buyers (not just first-timers);
• Urge housing regulators to bring common sense to the appraisal process;
• Compel regulators to make it easier to access acquisition, development and construction financing; and
• Support pending legislation to expand Net Operating Loss (NOL) carryback provisions for businesses.

Each of these actions would spur significant job growth, which will be a central message of our campaign. For example, if Congress acts to extend the tax credit program, it would spur 383,000 additional home sales, including 80,000 housing starts down the road. This stimulus alone would create nearly 350,000 jobs over the coming year –  which is exactly what the economy needs right now.

It is critical that every NAHB member lend his or her voice as a constituent in this effort, by personally communicating with your elected officials while they are home this month.  To make it easy for members to get involved, NAHB has established a central site at www.nahb.org/revivehousingnow that contains the following:

• A one-page summary that provides a quick glance at the issues, with more specific information on each issue available in this more detailed summary.  You can also read the legislative alert that was sent out to NAHB members on August 5.
  
  
• Simple instructions on how to e-mail or send your members of Congress a letter.  This link connects you to an editable template letter to help you get started.  Be sure to add personal anecdotes that relay how the housing downturn has impacted you, your family, your community and your business. You can also tell your members of Congress to support the legislative proposals listed above by calling 866-924-6242 (NAHB).
  
  
• In-district contact information that can be found by following these links to the House and Senate to help you set up appointments with your members of Congress while they are at home during the August recess. 
  
  
• Talking points  to help you frame your discussions during your in-district meetings. Be sure to ask your members of Congress to send this AD&C issues letter to federal banking regulators and this appraisal practices letter to federal housing regulators. 
  
  
• Once you have talked with your members of Congress, please provide feedback on your conversation.
  

Once again, builder participation in this endeavor is absolutely necessary for our success. For more information on coordinating group visits to area congressional offices, contact  Molly Murray at 800-368-5242 x8282. [return to top]