|
NAHB Visiting All 535 U.S. House and Senate Offices
In welcoming the 110th Congress and working to promote policies that will keep housing a national priority, NAHB lobbyists last week began a series of visits to all 535 House and Senate offices on Capitol Hill.
Each congressional office will be presented with a brochure that explains the housing mission of NAHB; provides an overview of the important economic role that housing plays at the local, state and national levels; and outlines policy concerns that are important to members of the housing community.
In addition, the booklets contain customized economic and housing data unique to each state and congressional district.
“We look forward to working with you, your staff and other lawmakers during the new Congress to enact legislation that opens the door to homeownership and rental housing opportunities for all Americans,” says NAHB chief lobbyist Joe Stanton in a message to every member of Congress. “We hope to meet with you on June 6, 2007, when home builders from across the country will be visiting Capitol Hill to discuss important housing-related issues.”
Complementing the brochure, NAHB ran full page ads in the Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 editions of the National Journal welcoming lawmakers to Capitol Hill and reaffirming the association’s commitment to work with Congress to “keep the dream of homeownership and affordable rental housing alive.”
Citing several broad policy areas, the four-page document summarizes NAHB’s position on the following issues:
-
 Housing Finance — NAHB supports congressional efforts to revamp the regulatory structure of the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks — that would strengthen and safeguard their financial health while preserving their vital housing mission. NAHB also backs efforts to update and modernize the Federal Housing Administration and establish a strong framework for preserving rural housing.
- Tax Policy — NAHB supports homeownership and rental housing incentives in the current tax code, specifically the deductions for mortgage interest and state and local property taxes as well as provisions that encourage development of affordable housing. NAHB supports legislation that would sustain and improve the effectiveness of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the primary tool for financing construction of affordable rental housing. These incentives, along with a healthy housing finance system, have helped the U.S. create the best-housed nation on earth. In addition, NAHB supports changes in federal tax law and regulation that would increase the private sector’s ability to provide affordable housing to more American families.
- Immigration — NAHB supports comprehensive immigration reform that would safeguard U.S. borders and establish a more efficient guest worker program and legal pathway for entry into the workforce.
- Environment — NAHB supports a common-sense, scientific approach to safeguarding the environment that reasonably balances protection of endangered species, clean air and clean water with the need to allow local communities to grow and thrive.
- Energy — NAHB supports voluntary, market-driven and cost-effective measures that promote energy efficiency in the home and green building construction techniques.
Log on to www.nahb.org/110thcongress for a summary of NAHB’s policy issues and comprehensive, up-to-date economic and housing data that:
- Displays the average home price appreciation in more than 250 markets
- Contains residential construction employment data for each congressional district
-
 Shows the number of households priced out of the market for a new home in more than 300 individual metro areas when prices and interest rates rise
- Provides an in-depth analysis of the use of the mortgage interest and real estate deductions in each of the 435 congressional districts across the country
- Ranks home affordability in nearly 200 metropolitan markets
- Includes local and state data on home construction rates
- Measures how much housing contributes to the economic output of each state
- Shows how building 100 homes benefits a typical metropolitan area
Also bolstering NAHB's message on Capitol Hill, NAHB President-elect Brian Catalde last week met with several members of the House and Senate leadership to discuss key housing-related issues.
Catalde met with Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Select Revenue, and Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.), ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, to discuss NAHB's tax priorities in the 110th Congress. How NAHB can help elect pro-housing candidates to Congress was the topic of conversation in meetings with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (R-Nev.) and National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.). And he discussed the House legislative agenda with House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Chief Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252.
|
