Build America Caucus
Build America Caucus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair | Josh Harder |
| Co-Chair | Celeste Maloy[1] |
| Founded | May 9, 2025 |
| Ideology | Centrism Bipartisanship Pro-abundance Pro-housing affordability Deregulation |
| Seats in House Democratic Caucus | 22 / 213 |
| Seats in House Republican Caucus | 19 / 220 |
| Seats in the House[2] | 41 / 433
|
The Build America Caucus is a bipartisan caucus in the United States House of Representatives. The members of the Build America Caucus support the "abundance movement", which came to prominence following the publishing of Abundance, a New York Times Bestseller co-authored by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.[3]
History
[edit]Following their losses in the 2024 United States elections, where polling showed that the cost of living was the most salient issue for voters,[4][5] Democrats warmed to the idea of embracing deregulation to decrease housing and energy costs.[6] As deregulation is traditionally a Republican issue,[7] this created room for a new bipartisan focus on permitting reform.
The Build America Caucus was founded in the 119th Congress, following the collapse of the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 at the end of the 118th Congress. The caucus officially launched on May 9, 2025, under chair Rep. Josh Harder,[8][9] composed mostly of relative newcomers to bipartisan permitting reform negotiations.[10]
In the 119th Congress, the Build America Caucus endorsed legislation to aid housing construction by exempting projects from environmental reviews and to reduce wildfire risk by reforming permitting requirements.[11][12][13]
Members
[edit]
As of February 10, 2026, the Build America Caucus has 41 members, composed of 22 Democrats and 19 Republicans.
Current members
[edit]Legislation
[edit]The Build America Caucus has endorsed several pieces of federal legislation focused on reforming permitting processes to reduce regulatory slowdowns.
119th Congress
[edit]- Fix Our Forests Act (Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman),[13] H.R. 471
- Affordable HOMES Act (Sponsored by Rep. Erin Houchin),[15] H.R. 5184
- Housing for the 21st Century Act (Sponsored by Rep. French Hill),[16] H.R. 6644
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "LEADERSHIP NEWS: Build America Caucus Announces Rep. Celeste Maloy as Bipartisan Co-Chair". harder.house.gov. February 19, 2026.
- 1 2 Harder, Josh. "Build America Caucus". harder.house.gov.
- ↑ Wu, Nicholas; Otterbein, Holly (May 8, 2025). "House Democrat starts 'abundance movement'-inspired caucus". www.politico.com.
- ↑ "2. Issues and the 2024 election". pewresearch.org. September 9, 2024.
- ↑ Russell, Rachael (December 4, 2024). "Post-Election Poll: The Issues That Mattered Most In The Battleground". navigatorresearch.org.
- ↑ Conroy, J. Oliver (March 28, 2025). "What is 'abundance' liberalism, and why are people arguing about it?". www.theguardian.com.
- ↑ Adler, Jonathan H. "The Republican Reversal". www.cato.org.
- ↑ "Josh Harder announces launch of Build America Caucus for legislative action". harder.house.gov. May 8, 2025.
- ↑ "New Bipartisan Build America Caucus Launches to Support Pro-Growth Policies". sanjoaquintimes.com.
- ↑ Picon, Andres (July 8, 2025). "Bipartisan 'abundance' caucus sets sights on NEPA". www.eenews.net.
- 1 2 "PHOTO RELEASE: Build America Caucus Spotlights ROAD to Housing Bill". harder.house.gov. September 19, 2025.
- ↑ Armlovich, Alex; Aras, Rohan; Justus, Andrew (August 28, 2025). "The ROAD to housing: Tim Scott's housing bill marks a bipartisan breakthrough". www.niskanencenter.org.
- 1 2 "RELEASE: Build America Caucus Urges Senate to Pass Historic Fix Our Forests Act". harder.house.gov. November 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Member Profiles". clerk.house.gov.
- ↑ "HOUSING: Build America Caucus Members Celebrate Passage of Affordable HOMES Act". harder.house.gov. January 9, 2026.
- ↑ "HOUSING: Build America Caucus Members Applaud Passage of Housing for the 21st Century Act". harder.house.gov. February 10, 2026.