The Biden administration on Monday rejected arguments from Congress and homebuilders groups that new energy efficiency standards for residential construction would make the economic situation even worse.
In late May, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture updated their energy efficiency standards for new homes to reflect parameters of the 2021 International Energy Efficiency and Conservation Code (IECC) for federally funded housing.
The backlash came after nearly two dozen lawmakers recently sent a letter to the president urging him to halt adoption of new efficiency standards that are set to come into effect, citing concerns about affordability and inflation.
In comments to Fox News Digital, Biden-Harris administration officials denied claims that the new standards would further burden first-time homebuyers and families already facing record-high prices.
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A single-family home in a residential neighborhood in Aldie, Virginia. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“This rule could result in hundreds of dollars in annual savings through energy efficiency improvements, saving homeowners tens of thousands of dollars over the life of their home,” officials said.
“[HUD, USDA] The U.S. Department of Energy is providing billions of dollars in funding and assistance to builders to ensure these standards translate into lower energy bills for homebuyers, stronger homes that withstand extreme heat and cold, and even better health benefits.”
In a separate statement, HUD officials said adoption of the 2021-IECC “will significantly reduce annual and lifetime costs for homeowners and renters, improve occupant health and comfort, and increase the climate resilience of both covered single-family and multifamily housing.”
According to a HUD fact sheet, the agency calculated that homes built under the 2021-IECC would save $80 per month on energy bills compared to the previous standard. The current IECC standard was drafted in 2009 and went into effect in 2015.
In a letter, more than a dozen House members, led by Rep. Ben Klein (R-VA), warned President Biden that adopting the 2021-IECC standards would exacerbate skyrocketing home prices and shut some families out of the housing market altogether.
Klein’s letter, co-signed by Republican Reps. Keith Self of Texas and Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, as well as 15 other lawmakers, noted that to date, 44 states have declined to adopt the 2021-IECC standard because they understand the impact it would have on their marketplace.
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“Indeed, HUD estimates that implementation of the 2021-IECC standards would increase new home prices by an average of $7,200 per single-family home. Moreover, data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that approximately 107 million households are already unable to afford the median price of a new home,” the lawmakers wrote.
“The implementation of this new standard will result in an additional 724,525 households being removed from the housing market,” the letter continued, also arguing that the new standard will disproportionately hit underserved communities and first-time homebuyers.
A spokesman for Mueser said that although the 2021-IECC standards took effect on May 28, there is still time for Biden to reverse their implementation.
Citing the Federal Register, the spokesman said the compliance date is 18 months after the May date for new single-family homes insured by the FHA, one year later for multifamily buildings and two years later for projects in rural and “chronic poverty” areas.
Klein added in a statement that Biden-era regulations have already negatively impacted the Shenandoah Valley he represents, and adoption of 2021-IECC “will only exacerbate the housing crisis.”
Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), another co-signer, quipped, “First it was inflation, now it’s this.”
Bean said Biden’s energy policies are “destroying the American dream of homeownership.”
Bean also spoke about the Kansas City, Missouri, Home Builders Association As a result, they calculated that home prices increased by more than $31,000.
“It’s clear that Biden is siding with Wall Street billionaires and environmentalists rather than hard-working Americans,” Bean said.
In a statement, Self said the new rules would produce “minimal” energy savings while passing the burden of higher prices on to new homebuyers.
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A NAHB spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to recent congressional testimony from Sean Woods, a Missouri homebuilder who appeared on behalf of the group.
“Without sufficient study or consideration of how it would impact homebuyers and renters, HUD and USDA rammed through orders requiring that new single-family home construction funded through both agencies be done in accordance with the 2021 IECC,” he said.
In previous testimony, Woods repeated lawmakers’ concerns about the impact of potential inflation on the housing affordability crisis.
Meanwhile, Craig Tolleson, CEO of the Virginia Association of Home Builders, praised Klein’s move but predicted that mandatory adoption of the standards by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture would do little to translate into “meaningful” energy savings for homebuyers.
“[T]His ill-conceived regulatory policies will stifle new construction at a time when increasing housing supply is critical to lowering housing inflationary costs,” Tolleson said.
The current and previous standards were drafted by the International Standards Council, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that develops building safety standards and provides certifications and technology, according to its website.
