Staff Reports
President Joe Biden’s administration appears to be on a fruitless sprint to implement its progressive agenda right before the curtains close on his presidency. With less than two weeks in office, the White House seems to think it’s a good idea to push through its latest energy efficiency standards for newly constructed homes, effectively tossing a wrench into the housing market and alienating hard-working Americans.
Republican state attorneys general, however, are not taking this lying down. A coalition, spearheaded by Utah and Texas, has decided enough is enough, filing lawsuits against the new regulations that they argue will turn the American dream of homeownership into a distant memory. Together with the National Association of Home Builders, they are challenging the constitutionality of these hastily crafted regulations, signaling a full-on legal brawl against the last-ditch efforts of the Biden administration.
Biden's radical energy standards could add $31,000 to the price of a new home, drive down production, and make the American Dream of homeownership unattainable for many hardworking Hoosier families. Not on my watch.
Read here: https://t.co/1uTHg8wBpn pic.twitter.com/ZdIo35e8KE
— AG Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) January 7, 2025
The standards in question, which were announced in the Federal Register, seem to be laced with the promise of saving energy costs and improving health outcomes—two things that sound great on paper. The reality, however, is that these new rules could drive the price of a new home up by tens of thousands of dollars. While the government predicts a relatively modest increase of about $8,000, industry experts have another story, estimating a colossal $31,000 hike. Such increases surely don’t bode well for low- and middle-income families who are already grappling with the reality of rising costs across the board.
Utah’s Attorney General Sean Reyes emphasized that the Biden administration’s push is nothing more than a misguided attempt to impose needless expenses on families already struggling to make ends meet. The lawsuit aims to roll back what is viewed as an aggressive green agenda that threatens the very fabric of homeownership for many Americans. After all, who could possibly think that slapping excessive costs onto new homes is a good idea when so many are already staring down the barrel of skyrocketing inflation?
The legal challenge argues that the federal agencies, HUD and USDA, have blatantly overstepped their authority, reshaping laws in a way that Congress never intended. Their lawsuit asserts the new standards not only go against the plain language of existing statutes but also infringe upon the American public’s right to affordable housing. The coalition is asking the courts to throw out these new rules as “arbitrary” and “capricious,” which might be a bit of an understatement based on how excessively the administration seems to be meddling in the affairs of American homeowners. With Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton leading the charge, the lawsuit marks his latest endeavor in holding the Biden administration accountable, making it clear that the fight for American values and economic viability is far from over.
