October 14, 2011
National Association of Home Builders
Washington Update
Rep. Paul Says End Government Role for Housing
In a one-hour presidential “teleforum” on Oct. 13 that drew more than 20,000 participants, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said that he believes there should be no government role for housing.
“The federal government’s responsibility is to get out of the way and let the free market work,” said Paul.
Regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Paul said the two government sponsored enterprises “contributed significantly to the financial bubble” and that it is wrong for the government to prop up lower interest rates for Fannie and Freddie at the expense of privately-owned financial institutions.
“The government should deregulate,” said Paul. “It should not be in the business of housing. This is how we got into so much trouble. “As soon as we get back to [free] market principles, the sooner we will get back to more jobs and building more houses.”
To deal with the foreclosure problem and excess homes that are on the market, he said it would be counterproductive to keep home prices up or stimulate more home construction at this time.
“The correction means you have to get the prices down. You have to get the prices down to where these houses will be sold and cleared,” said Paul.
NAHB, along with members of the Associated Builders and Contractors, the National Federation of Independent Business and the National Restaurant Association, sponsored the forum to give our members a chance to hear from the presidential candidates and ask questions via the telephone.
Together with our cosponsors, we have extended invitations to President Barack Obama, former Governor Mitt Romney, Governor Rick Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and businessman Herman Cain to conduct individual teleforums with us.
While NAHB does support pro-housing congressional candidates through BUILD-PAC, its political action committee, it officially does not endorse any presidential candidate.
During the teleconference, Paul said that American society is run on a Keynesian philosophy where the government intervenes and tries to direct the economy and that he believes in the tenets of Austrian free market economics, which generally advocates a laissez faire approach to the economy.
“I argue for free government, little regulations and as much free trade as possible,” he said.
Paul also criticized the Federal Reserve for taking an aggressive stance in moving to keep interest rates so low and said that he advocates taking away the ability of the Fed “to make money out of thin air.”
Responding to a caller who said that excessive regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies has unduly burdened small businesses, Paul said that his goal would be to get rid of the EPA.
"We don’t have the right to pollute our neighbor’s property or our neighbor’s air," he said. "We should be very strict about that through property rights legislation, but the bureaucratic way of doing it now just invites the politicization of radical environmentalists to come in and take over because they literally take over the ownership of your land. I would do everything possible to move away from that direction.”
Regarding tax policy, Paul said that “if I had my druthers, I would repeal the 16th amendment and get rid of the IRS.”
He opposes the implementation of a sales tax to raise revenue because he said it is regressive in nature.
As President, Paul said he would look for ways to cut $1 trillion out of the budget in his first year in office.
“I concentrate on why are we spending so much money, why do we have to have all these taxes," he said. "What we have to ask is what should the role of government be."
To help lower taxes and save money, Paul said he would institute a non-interventionist foreign policy. “The easiest place to cut politically is one that I think would not only be beneficial to us economically but be beneficial to our national defense. We should not pretend we police the world and tell everyone what to do and look at all the boundaries around the world and try to secure those at the same time we don’t do much with our own borders.”
On the topic of immigration, Paul said that states should not be required to provide free education and free medical care to illegal immigrants and they should not be rewarded with amnesty. He also said that small businesses should not have to act like policemen.
“Now we punish the businessman,” said Paul. “That’s not the problem. We should be more generous and efficient on allowing workers to come here. No benefits and no easy road to citizenship. That’s a start in the right direction.”
Going forward, NAHB expects that more candidates will soon confirm times in which they can participate in similar teleforums, and the association will let its members know about each scheduled event as soon as that information is available.
In the meantime, NAHB members can signify their interest in participating in upcoming teleforums by filling out the registration form at this link. Please note that you will need to provide a valid telephone number at which you can be contacted when each event begins.
For more information on the presidential teleforums, email Nick Gentile at NAHB or call him at 800-368-5242 x8542.
“The federal government’s responsibility is to get out of the way and let the free market work,” said Paul.
Regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Paul said the two government sponsored enterprises “contributed significantly to the financial bubble” and that it is wrong for the government to prop up lower interest rates for Fannie and Freddie at the expense of privately-owned financial institutions.
“The government should deregulate,” said Paul. “It should not be in the business of housing. This is how we got into so much trouble. “As soon as we get back to [free] market principles, the sooner we will get back to more jobs and building more houses.”
To deal with the foreclosure problem and excess homes that are on the market, he said it would be counterproductive to keep home prices up or stimulate more home construction at this time.
“The correction means you have to get the prices down. You have to get the prices down to where these houses will be sold and cleared,” said Paul.
NAHB, along with members of the Associated Builders and Contractors, the National Federation of Independent Business and the National Restaurant Association, sponsored the forum to give our members a chance to hear from the presidential candidates and ask questions via the telephone.
Together with our cosponsors, we have extended invitations to President Barack Obama, former Governor Mitt Romney, Governor Rick Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and businessman Herman Cain to conduct individual teleforums with us.
While NAHB does support pro-housing congressional candidates through BUILD-PAC, its political action committee, it officially does not endorse any presidential candidate.
During the teleconference, Paul said that American society is run on a Keynesian philosophy where the government intervenes and tries to direct the economy and that he believes in the tenets of Austrian free market economics, which generally advocates a laissez faire approach to the economy.
“I argue for free government, little regulations and as much free trade as possible,” he said.
Paul also criticized the Federal Reserve for taking an aggressive stance in moving to keep interest rates so low and said that he advocates taking away the ability of the Fed “to make money out of thin air.”
Responding to a caller who said that excessive regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies has unduly burdened small businesses, Paul said that his goal would be to get rid of the EPA.
"We don’t have the right to pollute our neighbor’s property or our neighbor’s air," he said. "We should be very strict about that through property rights legislation, but the bureaucratic way of doing it now just invites the politicization of radical environmentalists to come in and take over because they literally take over the ownership of your land. I would do everything possible to move away from that direction.”
Regarding tax policy, Paul said that “if I had my druthers, I would repeal the 16th amendment and get rid of the IRS.”
He opposes the implementation of a sales tax to raise revenue because he said it is regressive in nature.
As President, Paul said he would look for ways to cut $1 trillion out of the budget in his first year in office.
“I concentrate on why are we spending so much money, why do we have to have all these taxes," he said. "What we have to ask is what should the role of government be."
To help lower taxes and save money, Paul said he would institute a non-interventionist foreign policy. “The easiest place to cut politically is one that I think would not only be beneficial to us economically but be beneficial to our national defense. We should not pretend we police the world and tell everyone what to do and look at all the boundaries around the world and try to secure those at the same time we don’t do much with our own borders.”
On the topic of immigration, Paul said that states should not be required to provide free education and free medical care to illegal immigrants and they should not be rewarded with amnesty. He also said that small businesses should not have to act like policemen.
“Now we punish the businessman,” said Paul. “That’s not the problem. We should be more generous and efficient on allowing workers to come here. No benefits and no easy road to citizenship. That’s a start in the right direction.”
Going forward, NAHB expects that more candidates will soon confirm times in which they can participate in similar teleforums, and the association will let its members know about each scheduled event as soon as that information is available.
In the meantime, NAHB members can signify their interest in participating in upcoming teleforums by filling out the registration form at this link. Please note that you will need to provide a valid telephone number at which you can be contacted when each event begins.
For more information on the presidential teleforums, email Nick Gentile at NAHB or call him at 800-368-5242 x8542.
House Panel Repeals 3 Percent Withholding Rule
The House Ways and Means Committee this week approved H.R. 674, legislation introduced by Reps. Wally Herger (R-Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) that would repeal the 3 percent withholding rule that requires the IRS to hold back 3 percent on certain payments made to contractors doing business with local, state and federal governments in order to improve tax compliance.
NAHB supports this repeal because the withholding rule could cause cash flow problems for small firms doing government work and is an unnecessary administrative burden for companies that must comply with this tax law.
The full House is expected to pass the bill but its fate is unclear in the Senate.
To view the legislation, click here and type the bill number in the box in the center screen.
For more information, email J.P. Delmore at NAHB or call him at 800-368-5242 x8412.
NAHB supports this repeal because the withholding rule could cause cash flow problems for small firms doing government work and is an unnecessary administrative burden for companies that must comply with this tax law.
The full House is expected to pass the bill but its fate is unclear in the Senate.
To view the legislation, click here and type the bill number in the box in the center screen.
For more information, email J.P. Delmore at NAHB or call him at 800-368-5242 x8412.
Help Build Support for AD&C Bill, the Mortgage Interest Deduction and Low Income Housing Tax Credit
With the House scheduled for a one-week recess next week, NAHB has sent out a BuilderLink alert urging members to set up meetings with their lawmakers at their district office during the week of Oct. 17 to keep them focused on the housing crisis and urge them to be pro-active in their response. Specifically, NAHB is urging lawmakers to cosponsor H.R. 1755, legislation that will help restore the flow of credit to home builders, and to urge them cosponsor a House resolution (H.Res. 25) in support of the mortgage interest deduction and to protect the Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
For more information, click here or contact Nick Gentile at 800-368-5242, x8542.
For more information, click here or contact Nick Gentile at 800-368-5242, x8542.
Robert Brady is the owner and head PPC wizard at 
