NAHB Scores Wins as Congress Reopens Government

Congress has approved legislation to end a three-day partial government shutdown that will provide funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and several other federal agencies through Sept. 30, 2026.

In an important win for NAHB to help combat the severe labor shortage in the construction industry that is delaying home building projects and raising construction costs, the appropriations legislation will fully fund Job Corps in fiscal year 2026.

In any given month, there is a shortage of roughly 200,000 construction workers. Job Corps is a vital source of skilled labor for the housing industry, and NAHB lobbied aggressively to ensure this program remains fully funded at its current level of $1.76 billion after House appropriators last year proposed to slash funding by 50% to $880 million.

Thanks largely to NAHB’s efforts, congressional appropriators changed course and moved to fully fund Job Corps at $1.76 billion in fiscal year 2026. Moreover, the appropriations bill includes a Joint Explanatory Statement (JES), which highlights policy that Congress would like to see each appropriations recipient put into operation. NAHB-supported policy recommendations were incorporated that will protect Job Corps centers from arbitrary closures and preserve the operations of critically needed training contractors such as the Home Builders Institute (HBI).

An initial House report would have effectively shut down 50% of Job Corps centers in the United States and render ineffective HBI as the largest training contractor of construction trades in the Job Corps program.

So, not only did Congress fully fund Job Corps as NAHB aggressively lobbied for, but lawmakers also included nearly all the recommendations NAHB proposed for Job Corps in its JES.

The appropriations package also contains an NAHB-supported provision that provides full funding for the HOME Investment Program, which provides essential resources to expand housing opportunities in communities nationwide.

Moreover, the legislation reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through Sept. 30, 2026. NFIP is a vital program that supports communities by promoting flood preparedness, mitigation and resilience.

Prior to the House vote, NAHB sent a letter to House lawmakers urging them to support this package to fund the departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education through the remainder of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. NAHB told lawmakers that the legislation “helps provide the predictability and certainty necessary to keep homes affordable and housing supply growing.”