Podcast: Congressional Priorities and the "Trump Economy" Heading into Fall

On the latest episode of NAHB podcast Housing Developments, NAHB CEO Jim Tobin and COO Paul Lopez discuss how the rest of the year looks as Congress gets ready to return to Washington next week.

The first order of business for Congress will be to keep the government open in the face of a Sept. 30 appropriations deadline. Tobin noted that home builders and buyers rely on many programs funded through Congressional appropriations, like the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), HUD and VA mortgage programs, and many more.

Tobin also noted that NAHB will be focused on funding for Job Corps, a program that is vital to workforce developments in construction that saw funding pulled earlier this year.

The two then talked about what the “Trump economy” looks like after the president’s policies have been cemented. They talked about some key trade deals Trump has signed with countries using tariffs as a lever. On tariffs, Tobin said, “It’s disruptive. But the president is remaking the world order…from an international trade perspective and we still have a little ways to go before we know what it looks like in the end.”

On immigration, Tobin and Lopez noted that the president’s very public round-ups of undocumented people in America is causing turmoil in the construction labor market and may start to impact housing demand if self-deportations rise.

Tobin and Lopez also touch on more, including recent news of the U.S. taking a stake in chip maker Intel. Tobin notes how rare such a move is and how it would look if the government controlled the means of production in the chip sector.

Watch the latest episode below or subscribe to Housing Developments through any podcast provider to listen. You can also watch all episodes on NAHB’s YouTube channel.

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