Housing Legislation Nears Key Markup as NDAA Path Closes
We are in the homestretch of the first session of the 119th Congress, and we hope to keep the momentum going for housing. We now know that the Senate's passed ROAD to Housing Act will not be included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is soon to be passed by the House and Senate. HFS Chairman French Hill objected to it being included, as the House has yet to act on its housing legislation, and there are differences in the House and Senate as to what should be included in housing legislation.
On the positive front, we believe an increase in the Public Welfare Investment cap (PWI) passed in the Senate and proposed in the House will be included in the final housing legislation. There are also similar proposals in both chambers regarding NEPA requirements, leveraging CDBG to encourage housing production and other regulatory changes that could decrease the cost and inefficiencies in housing production.
The House Financial Services Committee (HFS) has scheduled a markup of housing and financial services legislation on December 16th and 17th. In a hearing last week, the committee heard testimony from a group of witnesses on legislative proposals that will be considered at the markup. Included are the HOME Reform bill, CDBG legislation, the proposal to increase the PWI cap, and the Building Housing More Affordably Act, a proposal from Housing and Insurance Subcommittee Chair Mike Flood that would exempt HUD and USDA-funded developments from Build America/Buy America mandates. We are supportive of these efforts and are working with Chairman Flood to build Democratic support for this proposal specifically. If we are going to see relief from the practical and administrative costs of the BABA program, we need this legislation to be included in the final housing bill. We need outreach to Ranking Member Maxine Waters and her staff on this issue, as well as the other Democratic Members of the House Financial Services Committee.
We are hopeful that once the House markup is complete, a conference between the House and Senate will result in comprehensive housing legislation that will address areas of concern to the industry and reduce regulatory burdens on housing production. Please let us know how we may help you advocate for these issues, and thank you for your support.