NAHB NEWS Kavanaugh and Home Building: What the Record Shows As legal pundits and news outlets pour over Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s extensive judicial record to learn more about President Trump’s new Supreme Court nominee, members need only turn to the multiple NAHB court cases over which Kavanaugh has presided at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to get a fuller picture. In his 12 years on the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh has been involved in eight cases in which NAHB was a petitioner, appellant or amicus. While not always siding with NAHB’s position, Kavanaugh has consistently viewed agency rulemakings with a healthy dose of skepticism. For example, NAHB was a petitioner in Coalition for Responsible Regulation et al v. EPA, challenging EPA’s attempt to apply an onerous Clean Air Act permitting program to millions of new sources, including some multifamily buildings. A three-judge panel at the D.C. Circuit upheld EPA’s regulation, and the full D.C. Circuit did as well – except for Judge Kavanaugh. Ultimately, NAHB and its industry coalition took this case to the Supreme Court, which overturned EPA’s regulation for exceeding its statutory authority, just as Kavanaugh had forecast when he declined to go along with the D.C. Circuit’s full court ruling. Read More NAHB, HBI Pledge to Train 50,000 Workers Over Next 5 Years Attending a White House event on workforce development, NAHB Chairman Randy Noel pledged that NAHB and the Home Builders Institute (HBI) will educate and train 50,000 new workers over the next five years for careers in the construction trades. President Trump signed an executive order that establishes the National Council for the American Worker, which will develop a national strategy for training and retraining workers for high-demand industries. As part of this initiative, the administration is asking companies and associations to sign a pledge committing them to expanding apprenticeships, increasing on-the-job training and providing students and workers the training and opportunities they need to succeed in the American workforce. Read More 20 HBRA of Fairfield County | SUMMER 2018 Housing Starts Fall 12.3 Percent As Tariffs Draw Increased Concern Total housing starts fell 12.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. The June reading of 1.17 million is the number of housing units builders would begin if they kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, singlefamily starts fell 9.1 percent to 858,000 units. Meanwhile, the multifamily sector — which includes apartment buildings and condos — dropped 19.8 percent to 315,000. Overall, permits — which are a sign of likely future housing production — dropped 2.2 percent to 1.27 million units in June, the lowest level of the year. Although single-family permits edged up 0.8 percent to 850,000, they remain at their second lowest reading of 2018. Multifamily permits fell 7.6 percent to 423,000. “We have been warning the administration for months that the ongoing increases in lumber prices stemming from both the tariffs and profiteering this year are having a strong impact on builders’ ability to meet growing consumer demand,” said NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom home builder from LaPlace, La. “This is why we continue to urge senior officials to take leadership and resolve this issue.” Read More
21 Publizr Home