Builders Tell Congress Government Rules Are Pricing Americans Out of Housing

U.S. home builders pressed lawmakers on Tuesday to roll back what they describe as a growing web of federal regulations that they say is exacerbating the nation’s housing affordability crisis by constraining supply and inflating construction costs.

Appearing before a congressional panel focused on housing affordability, National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes argued that regulatory compliance — spanning energy standards, environmental permitting and labor rules — has become one of the largest cost drivers in…