Resource Library

Build America, Buy America and Housing: Good intentions, unanticipated consequences, and a barrier to the American Dream

April 2026

As America’s housing shortage has developed into a crisis, policymakers at all levels of government have begun looking for ways to increase housing supply and bring down costs for American families. Build America, Buy America (BABA) will stop them in their tracks. BABA requires all materials used in federally assisted infrastructure projects to have been made in the United States, with the laudable goal of supporting demand for domestically produced goods. However, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mistakenly applied this regulation to its housing programs, with potentially devastating unintended consequences for communities with housing needs, the nonprofit development industry, and the efficacy of HUD’s programs.

Congress did not intend for BABA to apply to housing, with good reason: housing construction represents only a tiny fraction of domestic steel consumption compared to public infrastructure projects, but BABA will require developers to document and confirm compliance for every single one of the thousands of components that go into homes and apartments. While BABA was intended to support domestic manufacturing, its application to housing fails to accomplish that goal, and has created an administrative and compliance nightmare that threatens an entire industry of nonprofit builders that provide housing, jobs, and tax revenue across the country.

Fahe’s new policy brief housing explores the challenges associated with applying BABA to housing and provides clear, simple policy recommendations that will solve the problem and allow developers to address the housing shortage without being hampered by this burdensome regulation. HUD can and should easily fix its mistake by bringing its internal guidance into accordance with BABA’s authorizing statute. This would require neither congressional action nor public comment, and would immediately allow policymakers to continue developing meaningful solutions to the housing crisis.

Investing in Places Called Home: Economic impact and collaborative investment in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia

2018–2024

This report—for the first time ever—features estimates of the amount of money that our more than 50+ members are putting back into their local economies by helping people build, repair and buy stable housing. Using the sophisticated and industry-trusted IMPLAN input-output model, our team of researchers measured the direct, indirect and induced economic effects that our members working across Appalachian counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia have had over the last seven years.

Making Housing a Priority: A Fahe Advocacy Case Study

June 2024

This publication describes two dynamic advocacy campaigns: the creation of a Rural Housing Trust Fund (RHTF) in Kentucky with an originating $20 million allocation, and an investment of between $10-14 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars in Tennessee for housing working families can afford. Both cases demonstrate how small networks of traditionally marginalized groups and communities can have a major impact via collective advocacy. The publication includes a summary of lessons learned, an overview of the two campaigns, and a chart comparing the key features of each campaign.