WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and others in introducing legislation to eliminate expensive Biden-era Green New Deal housing mandates. The legislation, known as the HOUSE Act, repeals the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Final Determination on energy efficiency standards for new construction of HUD-and-USDA-financed housing.

“Families in West Virginia deserve to have affordable housing,” Senator Capito said. “The Green New Deal-style requirements created by the Biden administration have made home costs rise, making it extremely hard for many to buy their first home. I’m proud to join my colleagues in putting a stop to this overreach by putting forth the HOUSE Act, which will help protect affordability and make buying a home easier.”

The HOUSE Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.-05) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2021, International Energy Conservation Code standards were released for new residential and commercial housing. These revised standards can add as much as $31,000 to the price of a new home, with the energy savings not being realized for 90 years. The net benefit for this rule does not outweigh the significant costs that it will place on American households. In 2023, HUD and USDA released a Regulatory Impact Analysis for these standards, stating that new construction for Federal Housing Authority borrowers would decline.

The Biden administration mandated these standards in 2024, requiring that all new single-family housing construction financed through federal housing agencies must meet the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code. In March 2025, HUD extended the compliance date for FHA-insured Multifamily and Single-Family homes to November 28, 2025, and May 28, 2026.

The HOUSE Act:

  • Repeals the Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Agriculture Final Determination on energy efficiency standards for new construction of HUD-and-USDA-financed housing.
  • Requires HUD and USDA to revert to the 2009 standards that are already in effect. This will alleviate the undue pressure that is being put on an already constrained housing supply.
  • Prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from implementing a similar mandate for VA mortgages. It would also clarify that the Federal Housing Finance Agency has no statutory authority to impose similar mandates.
  • Reforms underlying law by prohibiting HUD and USDA from adopting new efficiency mandates unless at least 26 states have already adopted similar standards.

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