HUD Opens BABA Comment Period

First, a quick note on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.  We had reported that the Senate was expected to vote on final passage this week. The Senate did have a cloture vote today, which passed 84-8.  Unfortunately, since it was not unanimous, the process allows for 30 hours of debate, likely pushing a vote off until next week. We are not concerned about this, as the cloture vote signals strong bipartisan support for the “ROAD” legislation.  Once the Senate passes the bill, it will move to the House, where we also expect strong bipartisan support.

Now on to BABA. As you are all very aware, we have been focused on addressing the significant shortcomings of the Build America, Buy America mandate as they affect affordable housing production.  After several meetings with the leadership of the Made In America Office, the BABA Office, and HUD, we reported that the Administration was preparing a Request for Information for domestic manufacturers and stakeholders regarding the availability of domestically sourced products.  That RFI, which you can review here, has been issued, and the 30-day comment period has begun.  

We strongly encourage anyone who has been affected by the requirement that developments utilizing HUD funds (202, HOME, CDBG, Housing Trust Fund, etc) comply with the BABA mandate to please provide comments. 

We have pointed out that BABA: 

• Increases the cost of affordable housing 

• Lack of response from manufacturers makes compliance difficult 

• The 5% di minimis threshold is too low and increases development costs 

• The waiver process is taking too long and is inefficient 

• Often requires developers and general contractors to hire outside consultants to comply with the mandate, adding additional costs 

If you have encountered these or other issues with the BABA mandate, please respond to the RFI.  It is our hope that the RFI will demonstrate to HUD and the MIAO what we have known for some time: that the BABA mandate should not pertain to HUD housing programs. 

Thank you for your attention to this important development.