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On the frontlines of housing advocacy, there is no greater fighting force in this country than NAHB’s 205,000 grassroots members and their employees, their colleagues in a host of housing-related businesses, their families, their friends and their customers. Back at the National Housing Center in Washington, they are supported by a staff of professional advocates who are trained to attack the foes of housing on every front. They include lobbyists, attorneys, journalists, economists, land planners, scientists, specialists on the environment and on government regulation, experts in construction and codes, and more. They are working with you and for you to ensure that housing receives the priority it deserves in every walk of American life.
When we make advocacy our mission, a bright future for housing is assured. Here are just a few of the achievements that are the direct result of focusing our energies on strategies designed to carry the day for housing:
- In last November’s elections, NAHB, supported by a strong BUILD-PAC, launched a voter mobilization campaign that brought victory to pro-housing candidates in key races for the U.S. House and Senate.
- With NAHB leaders and staff from Legislative and Political Affairs working tirelessly behind the scenes on Capitol Hill, we are seeing the rise of legislation that would enable housing to continue to lead the economy forward; help President Bush achieve his goal of increasing homeownership among minority families; help small businesses solve the problem of soaring health insurance costs for their employees, and encourage greater energy efficiency in housing.
- This week, on May 7, hundreds of housing advocates from across the country will participate in NAHB's annual Legislative Conference. NAHB members will assemble on Capitol Hill to meet with their members of Congress to discuss crucial housing legislation. And they will obtain valuable information about how they can continue to participate in the political and legislative process back home and take a stand on issues that affect their business.
- We are laying the groundwork for a secondary market for residential acquisition, development and construction loans that eventually will reduce financing costs for builders and developers.
- On the state legislative front, construction defect laws designed to make home buyers talk to their builders first before talking to their lawyers are making giant strides.
- On the environmental front, NAHB has received several favorable court decisions that will enable communities to accommodate housing at the same time as they move to protect threatened or endangered plant and animal species. Most recently, builders in Arizona have been able to obtain information about the locations of pygmy owls that is indispensable for planning for future residential development.
- NAHB’s State and Political Operations team is helping local home builders associations win ballot initiatives against unfair impact fees and no-growth initiatives.
- Our Housing Finance and Public Affairs staffs have been working to refute irresponsible news coverage speculating about an impending burst of a non-existent housing price bubble.
- We continue to fight for cost-effective building codes and we are successfully establishing the principle that housing affordability needs to be considered as an essential part of the codes and standards process.
And the list goes on. To see how well your NAHB is doing, continue to watch the information that is being brought to you electronically over our Web site and in our new streamlined online publications.
In the housing business, there is no such thing as fate. That’s why our mission is to make things happen through advocacy. Advocacy is our strength. It is the foundation upon which together we build the American Dream.
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In most cases, when Americans count their blessings, housing is at the top of the list. Unfortunately, even when you are the best-housed nation on Earth, housing is not something that you can afford to take for granted. Housing needs advocates, and in Washington, D.C. and across the country, there is no better housing advocate than NAHB.
