Murkowski and Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Affordable Housing

Murkowski and Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Affordable Housing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Senators Angus King (I-ME) and John Curtis (R-UT) in introducing bipartisan legislation to increase affordable housing across the United States. The Build American Efficiency Act would streamline the process for home builders to determine and locate domestically sourced materials that comply with the Build America, Buy American Act (BABA). This small legislative step would help homebuilders cut costs and avoid bureaucracy as they work to address the national housing shortage.

To accomplish its goals, the Build American Efficiency Act would encourage the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to share industry-led initiatives to certify products and facilities that comply with BABA requirements. The BABA standards were passed in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

"I'm committed to using every federal resource available to make building homes in Alaska more streamlined and affordable across the board," said Senator Murkowski. "This legislation will help identify products that are made in America more easily, cutting through red tape to get more homes built with American-made materials around the country."

"Despite our country's desperate need for additional affordable housing options, American homebuilders face steep costs and bureaucratic red tape," said Senator King. "The Build American Efficiency Act would empower the Department of Housing and Urban Development to share information to help builders, manufacturers, and housing providers navigate complicated compliance requirements and identify verified American-made products. Eliminating this time-consuming and costly additional step for homebuilders will allow them to build more homes faster. It's a three-page bill that amounts to a common-sense helping hand."

"Utah's impressive growth has unfortunately brought with it the strain of rising housing costs-which has already been made worse by unnecessary federal red tape," said Senator Curtis. "This bipartisan bill is a commonsense fix that makes it easier for builders to identify American-made materials, cut through bureaucracy, and get more affordable homes built faster."

More specifically, the Build American Efficiency Act would:

• Clarify that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has the authority to recognize auditable and verifiable systems that document products that comply with Build America, Buy America domestic content requirements
• Allow HUD to treat documentation generated under the Make It American Process Standard, or similar standards that provide an auditable and verifiable certification process, as sufficient evidence for domestic content certification
• Help manufacturers, builders, and funding recipients more easily determine which products comply with BABA requirements
• Reduce time spent navigating waiver requests, duplicative paperwork, and uncertainty over which products have or have not been approved
• Preserve flexibility by ensuring the bill does not mandate the use of any one database or prohibit recipients from using other lawful methods to certify compliance.

Nationwide, the bill is supported by ABB, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Associated General Contractors, Eaton, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Inclusive Abundance Action, Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, National Association of Electrical Distributors, National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Realtors, National Association of State Housing Agencies, National Electrical Contractors Association, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Prysmian, Schneider, Siemens, and Southwire.