NDAB NEWS
Volume XXIII, Issue 9
Monthly News from the North Dakota Association of Builders
Miami Minutes Wow, what a great couple of days we had in Miami at the NAHB Midyear Meetings. A big thank you to all those who took time out of their schedule and made it to the meetings to represent North Dakota. I came home with a number of different thoughts and would like to share them with you. Arnold Karsky NDAB President
With less than 100 days till Election Day, it was encouraging to see that our industry is starting to get the national attention. Throughout this year I have noticed that our Local, State, and National Elected Officials have started to reach out to us to gain our thoughts and ask us what we think on key Housing Topics. On one of our days in Miami, we had a Special Address by Gene Sperling, Chief Economic Advisor to Presidential Candidate, Secretary Hillary Clinton and then, the following day, we were able to listen to a Special Address by Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. It was great to see that both sides are talking housing and are starting to understand that when housing is thriving our national economy is thriving. We need this thought process to be getting out to our elected officials at every level, Local, State, and National. We need for our members to become informed and find out who is PRO HOUSING and then these are the people that we need to elect. When 25% of the cost for a single family home is regulation cost, we need the increased regulation costs to stop. Our elected officials have to understand that they are adding to the cost of the American Dream of owning a home every time they add regulations, codes, and other permits. So I ask you to become informed and vote PRO HOUSING when you are voting this election cycle. Membership involvement is one area that I see is affected at all three levels of our association. Throughout this year I have talked with many people about this topic (membership involvement) and this is one of the top topics that I came across at the NAHB Midyear meetings. At the meetings it was discussed many times, how do we get involvement at the local, state, and the national level? How do we get buy in from our members, both Builder and Associates. If you really take the time and look at what our association is doing, you will understand that it is easy to become active in our Association at every level. With IBS going to Orlando this year I encourage you to take time this year and take in the show. While you are there take a little extra time and join us in a meeting or two. Get registered in August and receive some savings with the early registration credits. I ask that if you plan to go give a call to your local EO and see how you can benefit from the meetings that are scheduled. Lastly, I ask you to think about both topics and do a little thinking. With the elections coming up soon don’t just pull the D button or the R button, vote PRO HOUSING. With membership involvement, take a little time and think about your membership and how YOU can become involved. Arnold
September 2016
Presidential Candidates
Kim Schneider NDAB Executive Officer
In August, members of the North Dakota Association of Builders along with various members from across the nation gathered in Miami, FL for the NAHB Mid-Year Board of Directors meetings. Schedules quickly changed as it was announced there would be a couple of special guests addressing the members including Gene Sperling, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s chief economic advisor and possible Treasury Secretary and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Below is a summary from NAHB on where both presidential candidates stand on housing issues:
Donald Trump. Having worked as a real estate developer during his entire adult life, Trump knows the challenges that developers face, whether navigating local zoning laws, obtaining permit approvals or dealing with statewide building codes and environmental requirements. However, he has never served in public office, nor has he issued any official position papers on housing. In stump speeches across the nation, Trump has talked about the need to rein in burdensome and unnecessary regulations to spur job and economic growth. Many of the regulatory barriers that inhibit commercial construction also pertain to the housing sector. In recent meetings with Trump and the Trump Leadership Council in New York and Cleveland, NAHB discussed the important role that housing plays in the economy and the policies that will allow home owners, renters and builders to succeed in America. In addition to providing the campaign briefing papers on the key issues affecting housing – including tax reform, regulatory reform, housing finance reform and other key concerns – NAHB has provided several policy questions that highlight housing’s important role in our dynamic economy. We have encouraged Trump to answer these queries and assured him that all responses will be published in their entirety for our members to review. Hillary Clinton. NAHB has met with Clinton campaign leaders and provided them with policy briefs on a range of issues important to the housing industry. NAHB also provided Clinton the same questionnaire delivered to Trump. Clinton has released a set of housing proposals that draw heavily from specific recommendations that the association proposed in meetings with her policy advisers. These include ideas for removing barriers to sustainable homeownership by improving credit availability for consumers. The Clinton plan proposes a match for down payment savings and the use of a new generation of credit scoring methods. It also recognizes the value of homeownership counseling, which NAHB strongly supports. Other ideas in the Clinton economic revitalization agenda that NAHB supports include proposals to bolster the supply of affordable rental housing by increasing the supply of Low Income Housing Tax Credits and by removing local barriers to such housing production. The plan also highlights the importance of job training and apprenticeships as a path to economic opportunity, which the housing sector has a tremendous capacity to provide. While NAHB is pleased to see Clinton acknowledge the significant role that housing plays in our local communities and economy, we will continue to work with her campaign on issues we disagree on. For example, NAHB believes the plan’s emphasis on connecting housing support to economic opportunity in high-poverty communities may limit the economic benefits of the proposals. During her time in the Senate from 2005-2008, Clinton opposed NAHB on issues related to comprehensive immigration reform, the estate tax and class action reform. She did, however, support NAHB in urging passage of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, legislation to provided needed housing reform and address the subprime mortgage crisis. Clinton also opposed efforts by the Bush Administration to cut funding for the Community Development Block Grant program and move the program to the Department of Commerce.
Back your PAC … your PAC backs you! NDAB-PAC is the North Dakota Association of Builders’ Political Action Committee. It is a non-partisan political action committee that provides support for candidates who are friends of the building industry. Contact NDAB at (800) 326-4746, (701) 222-2401 or info@ndbuild.com to contribute or learn more! North Dakota Association of Builders 1720 Burnt Boat Drive, Suite 207, Bismarck, ND 58503-0801 701/222-2401 or 800/326-4746 www.ndbuild.com
14
Building Buzz | September 2016