Braun bill would roll back Biden administration housing mandate

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Braun

Last week, Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced legislation to repeal a Biden administration Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandate for new housing construction that Braun says would add significant costs to the purchase of new homes.

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) cosponsored the legislation.

“Buying a home is more expensive than ever for Americans,” Sen. Braun said. “We shouldn’t be making them even more expensive with government mandates that could add as much as $31,000 to the price of a new home. My bill will repeal this new Biden administration mandate so we can lower the cost of housing for American families.”

The HOUSE Act would:

• Repeal the HUD/USDA Final Determination, and require the agencies to revert to the 2009 standards already in effect;
• Prohibit VA from implementing a similar mandate for VA mortgages;
• Clarify that FHFA has no statutory authority to impose similar mandates;
• And reform the underlying law by prohibiting HUD and USDA from adopted new efficiency mandates unless 26 states have already adopted similar standards.

Click here to read the full text of the bill.