Meeting with Congressman John Culberson. (L to R) Bradley Pepper, Eddie Martin, Adam Aschmann, Casey Morgan, Sanford Steinberg, Bo Butler, Mike Dishberger, Congressman John Culberson, Don Klein, KC Cox and Barry Kahn
GHBA leadership attended the National Association of Builders (NAHB) Mid-Year Board Meeting and Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. in June, which gave us the opportunity to visit with the Houston area congressional delegation. More importantly, we witnessed first-hand how our national organization supports its members.
Home building is a complex industry with all the regulations, codes, people and products that are used to build a house, not to mention the banks, mortgage companies, real estate agencies, and most importantly, the buyers. Admittedly, I was overwhelmed with all of the different issues each one of these components creates in the home building process.
Organizations like the GHBA, TAB and NAHB are necessary to not only help us build a great product, but also to help us navigate government—whether local, state or national.
Advertisement
Some of the issues the homebuilding industry faces today include the rising price of softwood lumber and the Department of Energy writing more stringent code requirements that ultimately add to the cost of a home.
The NAHB is closely monitoring both issues as they estimate that 25 percent of the cost of a home is attributable to increased regulations. While in Washington, GHBA members educated our congressional delegation on the local impact of onerous energy codes and high lumber prices.
We also discussed the importance of the upcoming reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program. Living in Houston, we are very aware of flooding, and for this reason, maintaining a federal program that provides affordable flood insurance is critical. As Congress debates the future of the flood insurance program, we asked our elected officials to consider the importance of home affordability and ways to mitigate flooding locally.
As a Texan and native Houstonian, I just want to express how proud I am to have the GHBA, TAB and NAHB representing our interests and concerns. I also want to express my appreciation to the GHBA members who devote their time and resources to serve as TAB and NAHB directors.
-
- Attending the NAHB’s 75th Anniversary Gala. (L to R) Mike Dishberger, Sandcastle Homes; Casey Morgan, GHBA; KC Cox, Weyerhaeuser Wood Products; and Dan Bawden, Legal Eagle Contractors
-
- Meeting with Congressman Brian Babin. (L to R) Bo Butler, Sanford Steinberg, Don Klein, Dan Bawden, KC Cox, Congressman Babin, Casey Morgan, Mike Dishberger, Bradley Pepper, Barry Kahn and Adam Aschmann
-
- Meeting with Congressman Gene Green. (L to R) Eddie Martin, Bradley Pepper, Barry Kahn, Adam Aschmann, Mike Dishberger, Casey Morgan, Congressman Gene Green, KC Cox, Sanford Steinberg, Bo Butler, Dan Bawden and Don Klein
-
- Taking a break between meetings at NAHB LegCon 2017
-
- GHBA leadership meet in the office of Congressman Ted Poe in Washington, D.C.
-
- Meeting with Congressman Ted Poe. Left to right are GHBA representatives Bradley Pepper, Eddie Martin, Bo Butler, Don Klein, Casey Morgan, Mike Dishberger, Congressman Poe, KC Cox, Sanford Steinberg, Dan Bawden, Barry Kahn and Adam Aschmann
-
- Meeting with Congressman John Culberson. (L to R) Bradley Pepper, Eddie Martin, Adam Aschmann, Casey Morgan, Sanford Steinberg, Bo Butler, Mike Dishberger, Congressman John Culberson, Don Klein, KC Cox and Barry Kahn
About the Author
