We are nearing the end of the 119th Congress and the midpoint of the Trump 2.0 administration. It has been a momentous two years with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which expanded the supply of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) and bond cap, and the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. These two legislative successes were indicative of Congress’ support for housing issues.
At the same time, despite considerable efforts by the affordable housing industry since the 2024 election, the Trump administration has shown little enthusiasm for addressing the housing crisis. It is widely believed they were unaware the LIHTC was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill, and the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law without the president’s signature.
Some might view that record as proof that working with the administration is futile. But affordable housing advocates do not give up, and recent progress on the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) suggests that persistence may be paying off.
In general, BABA requires federally assisted infrastructure projects to use iron, steel, and construction materials produced in the United States, but housing leaders argue that the requirements should not apply to affordable housing developments.
The industry has been working with the administration, specifically the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to address the conundrum that is BABA. It has been a long process, with many meetings at the White House, HUD offices, numerous virtual meetings, and tons of data and examples exchanged to make our case. The D.C. advocates have been at this for some time, but it was outreach on delayed waivers, specifically from the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, teaming with practitioners in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, that cracked the dome of inaction that seemed to exist at the White House. Securing a meeting with the Made in America and BABA offices at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), these advocates made the compelling case that BABA was largely incompatible with the idiosyncrasies of affordable housing production.
Bringing the National Council of State Housing Agencies and the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association into these conversations with national data, as well as efforts by the National Association of Home Builders and the National Multifamily Housing Council, got us even further down the road with the OMB staff.
Progress was also aided by direct, sometimes animated questioning of HUD secretary Scott Turner on Capitol Hill by a bipartisan group of Senate appropriators, led by chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), THUD subcommittee chair Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and ranking member Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to name a few. And there is also the BABA language in the ROAD Act and other legislative pushes in the House and Senate related to BABA, including the Build Housing Affordably Act from Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.).
The tone of the HUD discussions shifted when BABA administration moved to the Field Policy and Management (FPM) office. The veteran staff quickly recognized the difficulty of applying BABA requirements to HUD-subsidized housing. It also became clear that domestic production gaps for many essential housing materials were far greater than originally assumed. Compounding the problem, HUD and OMB waiver approvals often took more than a year.
At a recent meeting, FPM staff said they were preparing a list of proposed program changes for OMB’s consideration. These changes could include full or partial product-specific waivers for several items. The first waivers could be released by Thanksgiving, though the exact timing remains uncertain. HUD may also consider raising the de minimis waiver above the current 5% threshold. In addition, staff is working to clear the backlog of project waivers, prioritizing LIHTC developments because of placed-in-service deadline concerns.
Additional changes are being discussed and may follow, pending OMB approval. The broader lesson is clear: Industry advocacy from the project level up with the administration remains essential, and meaningful regulatory relief from BABA now appears closer to becoming reality.
David Gasson is a founding partner of MG Housing Strategies and executive director of the Housing Advisory Group.