Murkowski cosponsors bill to ease Buy America paperwork for home builders

Builders on federally funded housing projects could prove their materials are American-made using industry certifications under a Senate bill Sen. Lisa Murkowski cosponsored this week.

The Build American Efficiency Act would let the Department of Housing and Urban Development treat documentation from the Make It American Process Standard, an industry-led certification process, or similar auditable and verifiable systems, as sufficient evidence that products were made in the United States. The Build America, Buy America rules come from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which requires that all iron, steel, manufactured products and construction materials in covered federally funded projects be produced in the United States.

"I'm committed to using every federal resource available to make building homes in Alaska more streamlined and affordable across the board," Murkowski said in a statement Thursday.

Alaska's 14 regional housing authorities build housing for 201 tribes. "That added a lot of new compliance requirements to what regional housing authorities do without any funding to support that," Griffin Forster, executive director of the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities, said of the rules at a Commonwealth North housing panel in August.

Sens. Angus King of Maine and John Curtis of Utah introduced the bill; Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont also cosponsored it. "Eliminating this time-consuming and costly additional step for homebuilders will allow them to build more homes faster," King said.

The bill would not require any single database. Builders could still use other lawful methods. Developers can already request HUD waivers for materials American manufacturers do not make.

Supporters include the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Associated General Contractors. No Alaska organization appears on the list.

S. 5652 was introduced Sept. 30 and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. No further action is recorded.