On May 21, 2026, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Bill Owens, a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio, testified before the House Small Business Committee on how small builders can help close the nation’s housing gap.
“NAHB estimates the country is facing a structural shortage of about 1.2 million homes,” said Owens. “Small builders are doing all they can to increase housing supply, but they cannot overcome the shortage as long as rising costs and system delays continue to hold back progress.”
In his testimony, he urged lawmakers to pass the CONSTRUCTS Act, a bill designed to prepare young adults for rewarding careers in the construction trades and reduce regulatory burdens that disproportionately affect small businesses and home builders and discourage new development. He also urged Congress to ease federal permitting delays and overly restrictive environmental requirements that limit lot availability by increasing the cost and time needed for land development and help reduce material cost pressures by supporting reliable building material supply chains.
“The bottom line is that the housing crisis is a supply problem,” said Owens. “Congress can help by improving access to capital, strengthening workforce pipelines, expanding the availability of buildable lots and reducing excessive regulatory costs and permitting delays. If we want to make housing more attainable, we must make it easier and less expensive to build.”
