HOUSE Act of 2024

Helping Owners with Unaffordable Shoddy Edicts Act of 2024 or the HOUSE Act of 2024

This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to withdraw the final determination titled Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing and published on April 26, 2024.

The determination adopted updated minimum energy efficiency standards for newly built homes (except manufactured housing) financed through certain HUD and USDA programs. Specifically, it adopted the (1) 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which applies to single family homes and multifamily low-rise buildings up to three stories; and (2) 2019 American National Standards Institute/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Electrical Society (ANSI/ASHRAE/IES) Standard 90.1, which applies to multifamily residential buildings with four or more stories. HUD and USDA must also revert to using the energy efficiency standards required before the determination.

In addition, the bill prohibits HUD, USDA, and the Department of Veterans Affairs from taking actions or using federal funds to implement or enforce the determination or any substantially similar determination. It also prohibits the Federal Housing Finance Agency from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a determination or rule relating to energy efficiency standards for single and multifamily housing.

Finally, the bill prohibits HUD and USDA from adopting updates to the IECC or ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 in certain circumstances unless at least 26 states have adopted codes or standards that meet or exceed the update's requirements.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8624 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8624

   To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to withdraw a final determination relating to 
    energy efficiency standards for housing, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2024

     Mr. Biggs (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Norman, Mr. Ogles, Mr. 
 Moolenaar, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Rosendale, and Mr. Donalds) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to withdraw a final determination relating to 
    energy efficiency standards for housing, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Helping Owners with Unaffordable 
Shoddy Edicts Act of 2024'' or the ``HOUSE Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and 
the Secretary of Agriculture--
            (1) shall withdraw the final determination announced in the 
        notice of final determination entitled ``Adoption of Energy 
        Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-
        Financed Housing'' (89 Fed. Reg. 33112);
            (2) may not take any action or use any Federal funds to 
        implement or enforce the final determination described in 
        paragraph (1) or any substantially similar final determination; 
        and
            (3) shall revert energy efficiency standards for covered 
        programs under such final determination to the energy 
        efficiency standards required before such final determination.
    (b) Action by Additional Agencies.--
            (1) Department of veterans affairs.--The Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs may not take any action or use any Federal 
        funds to implement or enforce a final determination that is 
        substantially similar to the final determination described in 
        subsection (a)(1).
            (2) Federal housing finance agency.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, the Director of the Federal Housing 
        Finance Agency may not finalize, implement, or enforce a 
        determination or rule relating to energy efficiency standards 
        for single and multifamily housing.
    (c) Consideration of State Standards.--Section 109(d) of the 
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12709(d)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) not less than 26 States have adopted an energy 
        efficiency code or standard that meets or exceeds the 
        requirements of the revised code or standard.''.
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