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A top NAHB legislative priority, tax credit bills S. 198 and S. 875 are pending in the Senate and a counterpart House bill, H.R. 839, has 259 co-sponsors, which represents 59% of the chamber’s 435 members.
“I believe Congress ought to pass tax credits to encourage home building in areas that need affordable homes,” Bush said.
The legislation would create a tax credit of up to 50% of the cost of building a new home or rehabilitating an existing property in distressed areas.
Turning to Cannon, president of Cannon Custom Homes, Bush said, “You can’t live in a home unless you’ve got somebody who is willing to build them. How about tort reform? You could use a little tort reform, couldn’t you?”
Cannon responded that it would be desirable to pass legislation that would stem the tide of class-action lawsuits, which force builders to pay more for insurance and ultimately increase housing costs. He also called for regulatory reform to enable builders to develop more affordable communities.
Another problem area for small businesses is health care. NAHB has been urging Congress to pass association health plan (AHP) legislation that would reduce health care costs by giving small businesses an alternative to purchasing coverage from a large carrier. H.R. 660, the “Small Business Health Fairness Act,” passed the House last year, but there has been little movement on companion Senate bill S. 545.
“Small businesses need to be able to pool their risk with association health care plans, so their employees can have more affordable health care,” said Bush.
In June 2002, Bush set a goal of increasing the number of minority home owners by at least 5.5 million families before the end of the decade. Since that time, Census figures estimate an additional 1.53 million minority households have been added to the homeownership roster.
Minority groups set a new quarterly homeownership record of 50.6% at the end of last year, surpassing the 50% mark for the first time ever. This compares with a national rate of 68.6% and more than 75% for white households.
“We want to close the minority homeownership gap in America. We want more people owning their own home, and we want more of our minorities owning their own home as well. We think it’s in the best interests of the country that more people own something. When you own something you call your own, you have a vital stake in the future of our nation,” Bush said.
To read the legislation discussed in this article, click here and enter the bill number in the box at the upper left.
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Citing record homeownership rates and the need for more Americans to own their own homes, particularly minority households, President Bush on March 15 traveled to Ardmore, PA, outside Philadelphia, to discuss the important role that housing plays in communities across the country.
