Washington Update - 06/13/2008 (Plain Text Version)

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Lobbying Blitz Underway in Support of Housing Bill

NAHB lobbyists blitzed Capitol Hill this week, targeting more than 100 lawmakers to urge Congress to move quickly before the Fourth of July recess to enact housing stimulus legislation that will avert an economic crisis, jump-start housing, save jobs and restore confidence. Underscoring the urgency of the situation, lobbyists presented each lawmaker with detailed economic data for their congressional district; media reports blaring record foreclosures, surging unemployment, sky high oil prices, and a deepening credit crunch crisis and housing slump; and recent ads produced by Public Affairs that ran in USA Today and National Journal stating that “America is hurting” and Congress needs to enact housing stimulus legislation now.

NAHB CEO Jerry Howard this week met with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to discuss strategies to move the legislative process forward and to push for the best overall package of proposals in any final housing stimulus bill. In an interview with Congressional Quarterly, Howard discussed the need to pass housing stimulus legislation now and NAHB’s outreach efforts to key members of Congress, including Sen. Baucus.

In conjunction with the lobbing blitz, NAHB on June 11-12 ran a new ad in Roll Call and Politico using the same theme that “America is hurting.” The ad says: “in the month since the House adopted housing stimulus legislation, another 49,000 Americans have lost their jobs and 190,000 home owners have gone into foreclosure. America can’t afford to wait another month. It’s time for Congress to enact a final housing bill.”

Utilizing Builderlink, NAHB’s national grassroots program, employees from Centex sent more than 6,000 letters to Congress calling on their individual lawmakers to pass badly needed housing stimulus legislation before the July 4th congressional recess. NAHB will expand its outreach next week to get our members and the general public involved in this effort. We will be issuing a Legislative Alert urging our members to phone their federal lawmakers, share their stories on how the housing downturn has affected their businesses and local communities, and call on their representatives and senators to pass a housing stimulus bill before the Fourth of July holiday.

In addition, NAHB has created three rotating ads that prominently appear on the front page of nahb.org . The ad message: Call your members of Congress today at 1-866-924-6242 and urge them to act before the July 4th recess to pass housing stimulus legislation. It provides a link to the Legislative Alert noted above that gives more background information on what to say to lawmakers. The ads appear on the public site as well as the members-only section of nahb.org. In addition, a separate smaller banner on the inside web pages of nahb.org contains a similar message and links to the Legislative Alert. For more information on the grassroots campaign, contact Molly Murray at 800-368-5242, x8282.

Executive Order Requires Federal Contractors to Use E-Verify

President Bush on June 9 issued an Executive Order (EO) that will require all federal contractors to use the E-Verify employment verification system once they enter into a contract with an executive department or agency. Under the EO, employers who contract with the federal government would need to verify the work authorization status of all persons hired during the contract term by the contractor to perform employment duties within the United States; and all persons assigned by the contractor to perform work within the United States on the federal contract. The EO goes on to define a “federal contractor” as an entity who:

(1) Directly or indirectly (e.g., through an affiliate), submits offers for or is awarded, or reasonably may be expected to submit offers for or be awarded, a Government contract, including a contract for carriage under Government or commercial bills of lading, or a subcontract under a Government contract; or
(2) Conducts business, or reasonably may be expected to conduct business, with the Government as an agent or representative of another contractor.

Federal contractors would also have to require in their subcontracts that all of their subcontractors comply with this rule.

While most NAHB members do not engage in federal contract work, NAHB is continuing to review the EO, and the subsequent rule for its implementation, to identify the scope of the provisions. For example, it is likely that all NAHB members who are currently working on military housing privatization projects will need to comply with this requirement. The rule is expected to be open for public comment for 60 days and will then need to be finalized. Thus, federal contractors are not likely to see this requirement appear in the contracts they bid for or enter into for a few months. NAHB will continue to monitor the progress of this rule in order to determine the potential impact on association members.

For more information on the E-Verify program, click here. To register your company to use the E-verify program, click here.

For more information, please contact either Jenna Hamilton, NAHB Government Affairs, at 800-368-5242, x8407 or David Crump, NAHB Legal Affairs, at x8491. [return to top]

Bill Would Remove Labor Union Requirement

Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), along with 37 cosponsors, on June 10 introduced the Green Jobs Improvement Act (H.R. 6220). The legislation would amend language included in the Green Jobs Act, which was passed as part of last year’s energy bill. The provision being amended requires any entity applying for green jobs training funds from the Department of Labor to be linked with a labor union in order to be eligible. NAHB and several construction entities that are non-unionized objected to this provision because it excluded significant segments of the construction industry from accessing training funds. H.R. 6220 would remove the labor union requirement. For more information, contact Jenna Hamilton at 800-368-5242, x8407. [return to top]