Advocacy Efforts Continue on GSE Reform
NAHB continued its advocacy efforts last week on reform of the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. NAHB staff and key Congressional Contacts held several meetings with Senate Banking Committee members, the Senate panel with primary jurisdiction over GSE matters, and key House lawmakers as well. Discussions focused on minimum capital requirements, the structure of the regulator, “bright line” program approval language regarding the primary and secondary markets, limits on GSE portfolios and strengthened affordable housing requirements. NAHB will hold further meetings with House and Senate members this week.

As reported previously, NAHB has drafted suggested minimum capital “snap back” language and is lobbying key Republicans to support this provision. It would require a new regulator to return the minimum capital levels to the statutory amount once the problem that spurred the increase is resolved. Indications are that the House Financial Services Committee will consider its GSE regulatory reform legislation on May 25. It is unclear when the Senate Banking Committee will mark up its own bill. For more information, contact Greg Brown or Scott Meyer at 800-368-5242, x8470.

House Panel Considers Section 8 Changes
The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing last week on H.R. 1999, legislation unveiled by Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) that would significantly change the structure of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. Miller introduced the bill as a courtesy to the Administration and has not taken a formal position for or against the proposal. S. 771, identical legislation introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), is pending in the Senate.

Testifying at the House hearing was HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who defended the Administration's proposal as critical to preventing the Section 8 program from overwhelming the HUD budget. Republicans and Democrats both expressed concerns about the proposal, especially on the block grant funding approach and the elimination of national standards for the program. While NAHB supports provisions within the bill that would improve Section 8 unit inspections, we continue to have significant concerns with its other components. The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, chaired by Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), will hold a hearing on H.R. 1999 on May 17. To view the legislation, click here and type the bill number in the box in the upper left hand corner. For more information, contact Greg Brown at x8470. [return to top]

Builders Urge Congress to Enact OSHA Reforms
NAHB First Vice President David Pressly called on Congress to reform the regulatory procedures of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during testimony before the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee on May 12. While NAHB has teamed with OSHA in a variety of voluntary endeavors to advance job safety in the home building industry, Pressly said that additional efforts are required to fix OSHA’s inspection and citation process, including reviewing the amount of time the agency is allotted to issue citations. Specifically, he noted that while OSHA has up to six months to issue a citation, employers must contest any violation within 15 days or lose their right of appeal. “We support Subcommittee Chairman Charlie Norwood’s (R-GA) legislation, H.R. 739, that would provide flexibility on the 15-day contest period,” he told lawmakers.

NAHB also supports three other OSHA reform measures sponsored by Norwood, including H.R. 742, which would make it easier for companies to recover attorneys’ fees when they successfully defend themselves against a citation. Additionally, NAHB has been working with Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) on several OSHA reform bills that were discussed as part of last week’s hearing. For further information on Pressly’s testimony, click here. Contact Jenna Morgan Hamilton at x8470 to learn more about the OSHA reform bills. [return to top]