Washington Update - 04/04/2006 (Plain Text Version)

View Graphical Version | Subscribe to NAHB Publications | E-mail Our Editor
NAHB Home Page | Browse Other NAHB e-Newsletters | Search Back Issues

Immigration Debate Moves Forward in Senate

Senators remain sharply divided as they move to bring an immigration bill to the Senate floor this week. Last week, the Senate began consideration of two highly-contentious immigration reform bills. The first, S. 2454, introduced by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), focuses narrowly on border security and enforcement, and would enhance the scope and authority of the Department of Homeland Security to enforce immigration laws. The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), approved a separate comprehensive immigration bill last week that would include strong border security measures and the creation of a guest worker program. NAHB believes that a guest worker program would help to ensure an adequate labor supply that would continue to meet the demand for housing.

Both the Frist and Judiciary Committee bills have been offered on the Senate floor, and will be debated and amended throughout this week. The Senate is expected to hold a vote on final passage on Friday, April 7. Because the Judiciary Committee bill (which does not yet have a bill number) was offered as a substitute amendment to the Frist bill, it will become the final vehicle for passage if it is approved on the Senate floor, and the Frist bill will fall away.

NAHB is urging lawmakers to support comprehensive immigration reform and has sent out an Action Alert to our membership asking builders to contact their Senators on the issue. NAHB passed official policy on immigration reform at the fall board meeting in September, 2005. To view the Frist bill, click here and type S. 2454 in the box in the center page. For more information, contact Jenna Morgan Hamilton at 800-368-5242, x8407.

NAHB To Testify on FHA Reform

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity will hold a hearing on April 5 entitled “Transforming the Federal Housing Administration for the 21st Century." The panel invited NAHB Executive Vice President and CEO Jerry Howard to testify on behalf of the association. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently submitted legislative language that would call for comprehensive FHA reform. The HUD action follows the release of the Administration's fiscal 2007 budget, which proposes to overhaul the FHA’s single-family mortgage insurance activities. Howard’s testimony will focus on NAHB's support for HUD's FHA revitalization efforts. For more information, contact Scott Meyer at x8144. [return to top]