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Don't Let Bill O'Reilly Disparage Our Industry
 Inaccuracies in the media are one thing. What the host of The O’Reilly Factor had to say in his Sept. 21 broadcast about “corruption in the home building industry” in the Katrina rebuilding effort getting underway on the Gulf Coast are quite another. Click here, to find out what was said and how you can join NAHB President Dave Wilson in firing back at some outrageously disparaging remarks.
Following is Wilson’s letter to Bill O’Reilly:
Mr. O’Reilly:
I am the 2005 president of the 230,000-member National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Our members construct approximately 80% of the housing built in this country every year, and they deserve at least some credit for creating the best housed nation on earth. As such, I am outraged by the inaccurate, indefensible and utterly abominable way that you characterized the home building industry during your Sept. 21 interview of Donald Trump.
In speaking of rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina, you insinuated that home builders who will rebuild the devastated communities across the Gulf Coast are unscrupulous profiteers who are looking to make a quick buck and even defraud the government and consumers. You went so far as to state that “corruption in the home building industry, as you know, is huge,” and suggest that FBI agents should be sent to building sites because home builders will say they’re “doing one thing and put in inferior materials and all that.”
Mr. O’Reilly, we will not stand for these outrageous accusations.
In the first place, you clearly have little knowledge of the home building industry. In fact, ours is one of the most regulated professions in this country, not just by building codes and building inspectors, but a regimen of governmental approvals and permits. Reputable builders don’t use inferior materials, as you suggested. If they did, they would be out of business in no time.
You also mistakenly referred to companies like Bechtel and Halliburton — large multinationals that are in a completely different line of business — as representatives of our efforts. They are not. Most of us home builders are small business owners who live in the communities we help build; who rely on our reputations as our most important assets; and who aren’t afraid to roll up our sleeves to provide the time, money and skills that are needed to help restore our communities following disasters such as Katrina.
Contrary to the uninformed picture you paint, home builders were among the first to come forward after Hurricane Katrina with genuine offers of help — and we’ve put our money where our mouths are. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has pledged $2 million for relief so far, and we expect to raise millions more through generous contributions from our members in the days ahead.
It was incredibly irresponsible of you to use your position on national television to air your uneducated, biased views without bothering to do your homework. You owe us an apology, Mr. O’Reilly. Set the record straight.
Sincerely,
David F. Wilson, President
National Association of Home Builders
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