Dive Brief:

• When asked to testify Wednesday about what home building contributes to creating jobs, the National Association of Home Builders took the opportunity to lobby for two tax breaks tied to owning and building houses.
• NAHB told a Senate subcommittee that building 1,000 average homes creates 2,970 full-time jobs.
• NAHB economist Robert Dietz then called on Congress to limit regulation on home construction, which he said is responsible for 25% of the cost of a new house, and to preserve the mortgage-interest tax deduction for homeowners and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit for builders.

Dive Insight:

The builders made a strong case for the economic benefit of building and remodeling housing as job creators and said they get credit for new 274,000 over the past 2.5 years. There was a certain unintended irony, however, to explaining the industry's ability to create jobs outside building at a time when builders are having trouble filling jobs in some areas.