Derek Kaufman

"I’m an ally to @InclsvAbundance and a member of its Build America Caucus in Congress." Thank you @RepAuchincloss for spreading the word about our Abundance Agenda project - really excited to see the ideas people submit! jakeauch.substack.com/p/are-you-a-yi…

NEW: Permitting reform: Washington's elusive bipartisan dream. My look at state of play on negotiations over an energy affordability issue with broad support that can never quite get over the finish line. Can that change in a contentious election year? politi.co/4dF32oh

👀"Congress is on the cusp of passing the most important piece of housing legislation in a generation"

3 great permitting fixes for transit in the House Surface Transportation Reauth! 1. Fixes the transit land acquisition problem: -Current problem: Under existing regs, transit projects cannot buy land until after the project completes NEPA (5.7 years on average). This forces agencies to rush to buy land before construction, increasing the cost of land and creating a series of problems for new transit. -Section 1213 fixes this issue by allowing transit agencies to buy land before completing NEPA. 2. Categorically excludes (CatEx) office-to-residential conversions from NEPA -Problem: Under current regs, federal funds for office to residential conversion of housing near transit trigger NEPA, which can make the funding unusable for developers. -Solution: Section 2001 would create a CatEx from NEPA for TIFIA funded residential conversions and new construction on already disturbed land adjacent to transit. 3. Expands DOT CatEx delegation authority to allow transit agencies to document their own categorical exclusions. -Current problem: The federal highway administration at DOT has authority to delegate authority to document and complete CatExs to state DOTs, heavily speeding up the process for low disturbance projects. But the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) does not have the same authority so transit agencies take much longer to utilize CatExs. -Solution: Section 1215 would expand the existing highway authority to apply to FTA and FRA, allowing CatEx delegation to transit agencies.

The only thing worse than a scarcity of energy is a scarcity of ambition. Those who joined us at Operation Gigawatt Summit understand that abundant energy is about far more than keeping up with demand. It’s about expanding what’s possible: lowering costs for families, curing disease, strengthening national security, and improving quality of life. Today, I joined @SecretaryWright for a conversation about energy abundance, nuclear power, manufacturing, and America’s capacity to build again. Utah is helping lead a new era of reliable, affordable and abundant energy.

@jon_m_rob There is a LOT of work left to do! Also, as you know, the ideas are more popular than the word: theabundantfuture.substack.com/p/democrats-do…

.@EconDerek vindicated

I voted to pass the 21 Century ROAD to Housing Act, bipartisan legislation to deliver affordable housing for working families. Rent is too high. Homes are too hard to buy. This is how we start fixing that.

Glad to see permitting reforms included in yesterday's surface transportation reauthorization bill markup. Getting infrastructure built faster is core to the abundance agenda, and it takes real work from champions in the Build America Caucus to make it happen.

"This bill, as amended by the House, will produce more housing at a more affordable price, more accessibly for more Americans across the country." – @RepFrenchHill discussing how the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the House 396-13. Let's get it to the president's desk.

“Shutting down BTR is a poor way to address that problem [of expensive housing]; what we need to do is build more housing and develop construction methods that let us construct buildings more cheaply.”

Huge housing win this week! The House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and we're one step closer to this bill becoming law. ✅ Innovation fund to reward cities that build more housing ✅ Streamlines NEPA for housing ✅ Chassis reform ✅ Unanimous Dem support

@j_kalla @ZLiscow @ProfSchleich @ISPSYale @coeff_giving Cool!

Excited to be working with @ZLiscow & @ProfSchleich on a new @ISPSYale Government Effectiveness Working Group. With funding from @coeff_giving’s Abundance & Growth Fund, we’ll be supporting research, teaching & community-building on how to improve government’s ability to deliver

See: x.com/EconDerek/stat…

It most certainly is! @RepRitchie @USRepMikeFlood

We need an urgent response to this country’s affordable housing crisis. That’s why I was proud to help pass bipartisan legislation to build more homes and lower costs for families in California and across the nation. cnn.com/2026/05/20/eco…

@ConservYIMBY @aarmlovi Fixed!

@aarmlovi @EconDerek What’s the status of the build-to-rent restrictions?

Every single House Democrat just voted for the bipartisan federal housing bill with White House support 👀

@aarmlovi Abundance!

See also: x.com/repmarkalford/…

The Build America Caucus is fully living up to its name! Grateful to @RepJoshHarder and @RepMaloyUtah for their extraordinary leadership.

The House just passed the most important federal housing legislation in a generation, and the Senate must now take up the bill too. Today's vote made clear the growing, bipartisan consensus that the surest way to bring costs down is to build more. This is abundance in action.