NAHB Testifies Before Congress on Post-Katrina Rebuilding Efforts
NAHB last week offered Congress several recommendations on how to address the immediate critical housing needs of Hurricane Katrina evacuees and the long-term reconstruction of housing infrastructure and supply in the aftermath of the storm’s extraordinary devastation. Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, NAHB President David Wilson urged the federal government to partner with the building industry to tackle the monumental rebuilding efforts.

Wilson began by highlighting the numerous efforts already undertaken by state and local home builders associations in the region to assist with disaster relief, as well as NAHB's efforts at the national level. Declaring that the availability of large amounts of building materials will be critical to the massive repair and replacement effort, Wilson called on the federal government to ease the impact of the price spikes and shortages that can be anticipated by rescinding tariffs on Canadian lumber, Mexican cement and Brazilian plywood.

To help hasten relief efforts in the short-term, Wilson urged lawmakers to ensure that the Section 8 Housing Voucher program can be used to address the emergency needs of existing voucher holders who were left homeless by the disaster, as well as the needs of newly displaced persons. He also asked Congress to allow those uprooted by Katrina to rapidly move into units financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits without placing an undue burden on apartment owners.  To expedite new construction and rehab efforts over the long-term, Wilson called on lawmakers to provide waivers to statutory and regulatory provisions in the FHA mortgage insurance, HOME, Community Development Block Grant, Section 108 Loan Guarantee and USDA Rural Housing Service programs.

See NAHB’s press release, or go to www.nahb.org (scroll down front page) to find out what you can do – and what NAHB is doing – to aid in the Katrina relief efforts. For more information, contact Greg Brown at 800-368-5242, x8470.

Lawmakers Approve Katrina Relief Package
On Sept. 15, the House passed a $5.28 billion package of tax breaks for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Senate passed a similar tax plan. Of interest to NAHB, both the House and Senate bills allow individuals in disaster zones to have access to mortgage revenue bonds, which are typically issued by state and local governments to help first-time home buyers finance new homes. The House and Senate tax-writing committees are planning on passing a larger, business tax package in the next few weeks. NAHB will be working with the committees to develop legislative proposals that address single-family construction, as well as, multifamily housing.

In addition, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee Chairman Bob Ney (R-OH) is crafting legislation to respond to the housing crisis created by Hurricane Katrina. As noted above, NAHB testified before Ney’s panel last week and is working closely with the chairman’s staff in this endeavor. For more information, contact Jim Tobin at x8470. [return to top]

House GSE Bill Revised to Address Katrina Housing Crisis
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley (R-OH) and Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA), the lead sponsors of the committee-passed government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) bill H.R. 1461, announced last week their decision to link the affordable housing fund provision in the bill to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The new language is expected to earmark monies from the housing fund to federally-designated disaster areas devastated by Katrina. The change has the backing of the Republican leadership, who could bring the revised legislation to the House floor as early as this week. However, the bill may still face opposition from some conservative members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) who object to the creation of the affordable housing fund. Nevertheless, negotiations are currently underway with the RSC to address its concerns.

NAHB staff has been in constant communication with the Financial Services Committee to ensure that any compromise does not negatively impact the ability of our builders to participate in the new fund. As the bill moves forward, NAHB will continue to support the balanced approach taken in H.R. 1461, and oppose any attempts to weaken the bill via amendment on the House floor.

Regardless of what happens in the House, GSE regulatory reform still faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Legislation narrowly approved along partisan lines this summer by the Senate Banking Committee failed to include an affordable housing fund provision. And Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) last week reiterated his objections to creation of an affordable housing fund and the Oxley-Baker plan to earmark such monies to Katrina relief efforts, stating that there are better ways to promote affordable housing. To view the legislation, click here and type H.R. 1461 in the box in the upper left hand corner. For more information, contact Greg Brown at x8470.
[return to top]

Rep. Pombo Unveils ESA Reform Bill
House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) on Sept. 19 introduced a bill (H.R. 3824) to reform the Endangered Species Act. The panel is expected to consider the legislation later this week and the bill could move to the House floor in October. NAHB continues to work closely with key committee staff and is reviewing all the provisions in the bill to ensure the measure reflects the association’s legislative priorities and addresses the building industry’s concerns with the ESA. For more information, contact Jason Lynn at x8470. [return to top]

Tax Reform Panel Could Delay Final Report
The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform was scheduled to meet on Sept. 8 and 15 to discuss reform options prior to the release of its final recommendations on Sept. 30. Unfortunately, the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina forced the meetings to be postponed and could delay the release of the final report. The panel's vice chairman is former Louisiana Senator John Breaux. NAHB will continue to monitor the progress of the tax panel. For more information, contact Jim Tobin at x8470. [return to top]

Senate Vote on Estate Tax Postponed
The massive legislative workload in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has caused the postponement of the Senate's scheduled cloture vote on the full and permanent repeal of the federal estate tax. Although proponents of full and permanent repeal hope to hold the vote later this fall, many, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), believe that the vote may be put off until next year. Grassley cited the political difficulty of passing a large tax bill that could be perceived as a tax break for the very wealthy, given that some lawmakers have estimated the total cost of the multiyear recovery could hit $200 billion. [return to top]