CARH’S BROADCAST E-MAIL – Regulatory Alert

On June 25, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled, “Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing.” Ben Carson, Secretary of the Department of Housing & Urban Development will serve as Chair, and Joe Grogan, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and Larry Kudlow, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy will serve as Vice Chairs. Members of the council will be representatives from the Departments of Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Secretary of Labor, Transportation, and Energy; the Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Management and Budget; Council of Economic Advisers; and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

The Council is tasked with accomplishing the following by January 2021:

• Work across agencies, states, local governments, tribal governments and private-sector stakeholders to identify policies that artificially increase the cost of developing affordable housing.
• Report on the quantifiable effect that federal, state, local and tribal regulatory barriers have on affordable housing development, the economy and society.
• Take action to reduce federal regulatory and administrative burdens that discourage private investment and housing development. 
• Take action within existing federal programs to align and support local and tribal state efforts to reduce regulatory and administrative burdens that discourage housing development.
• Recommend federal, state, local and tribal policies that would:
  • Reduce and streamline statutory, regulatory and administrative burdens that inhibit the development of affordable housing supply at all levels of government; and
  • Incentivize State, local and tribal governments to reduce barriers to affordable housing development.

CARH looks forward to working with this new Council in its efforts  to not only eliminate regulatory barriers, but also to develop new policies and procedures that will lead to not only preservation of the existing portfolio as well as construction of new housing throughout rural America.