7 Key issues on the ballot for architects and AIA this election season

With the U.S. Election Day just a week away and many voters across the country casting their ballots early, AIA is looking ahead to what it hopes to accomplish legislatively after the election’s outcomes are clear.

In the coming year, advocacy for the architecture profession and everything it touches will be a major focus for AIA. “To drive growth and prosperity throughout our industry, we must significantly enhance our advocacy efforts,” says Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, NOMAC, 2024 AIA President. “Together, we can support a stronger future for the profession of architecture and champion advancements in the built environment centered on design excellence and improving people’s lives.”  

This election season, AIA is prioritizing seven key issues that it sees as essential in allowing architects to do their best work in ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the public.

“The more involved architects are in advocating at the federal level, the greater the positive impact on our architectural firms, the communities in which we live, work and play, and the profession at large,” said Alexander Cochran, Esq., AIA’s chief advocacy officer, at the beginning of this year. 

Below, we break down AIA’s top policy priorities at the federal level.   

Housing

The United States is in the midst of a much-talked-about housing crisis. Experts point to a shortage of an estimated four to seven million homes nationwide, with lower-income families hit the hardest.  

AIA is advocating for a two-pronged approach to address the crisis that combines increased federal funding for housing with forward-thinking policy measures. Additional components of any federal housing plan, AIA believes, should be energy efficiency; climate mitigation; equity; and the health, safety and welfare of all occupants.  

Of these forward-thinking policy measures, one particularly important item in 2025 will be advocacy for increasing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by 12.5%, as well as adding more flexibility for the Community Development Block Grant Program. The latter allows for a more streamlined process for converting commercial properties into residential and mixed-use development to boost the housing supply. 

AIA is also partnering with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to conduct a housing survey in 2025 which will help identify local housing challenges and identify potential solutions. 

“AIA members will be important partners with federal, state, and local governments [on these issues],” says Erin Waldron, senior director of federal affairs at AIA. The goal, he emphasizes, is to save taxpayers time and money by designing resilient, healthy, and equitable housing options. 

Climate action 

Through consistency, standardization, and measurable achievements, AIA believes that the next administration and Congress can aggressively advance climate action in the built environment to hit climate goals laid out by the Paris Agreement.

The key to reducing overall energy consumption and environmental impact at the state and local levels, AIA believes, is by driving zero operational and embodied emissions goals. A great example of this is the White House and DOE’s National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building, released this past June.

 “[The definition] will provide a framework for consistent and measurable standards and provide architects the opportunity to lead solutions-based projects that reduce carbon emissions in our country, and around the world,” says Waldron. “The goal is to support healthy, resilient and equitable communities.”

Resiliency 

The devastation that Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought to local communities dominated news coverage this fall. In light of increasing damage to the built environment from natural disasters, it’s becoming even more urgent for federal policies to address the resilience of homes, businesses and public buildings.  

It will be vital, AIA believes, for the next administration and Congress to support America’s ability to better navigate the realities of climate impacts and natural disasters, which have cost the American people trillions of dollars. This includes funding like FEMA’s Building Infrastructure and Community subsidy, which allows communities to rebuild resiliently after natural disasters.  

Federal procurement is another piece of the puzzle, as it impacts whether communities are able to use durable materials, elevate structures in flood-prone areas, and incorporate features that can withstand extreme weather events during rebuilding.  

Policies that encourage cities and towns to develop comprehensive resilience plans, AIA believes, including risk assessments and mitigation strategies, will allow them to better prepare for and respond to environmental challenges, especially in historically underserved communities.  

Taxes

As Waldron points out, many provisions of the 2017 tax bill are expiring in 2025. There is a bipartisan interest, he says, in shaping a new law in 2025. AIA is particularly interested in getting policies in place that allow firms to immediately deduct R&D expenses in the year they occurred, rather than gradually writing them off over several years.  

Additionally, architects are one of the service trades that are eligible for a pass-through deduction for qualified business expenses, and extending these provisions as part of a new tax law will be a top priority for AIA in 2025.  

“This is an all-hands-on-deck effort, and AIA will need its members to communicate regularly with their members of Congress in Washington, D.C., and in their home districts,” Waldron says.  

Contract parity and local design freedom for federal buildings 

Part 1: Contract parity 

A major Hill Day priority for 2024 was the current 6% design fee limitation for federal projects. As of August 26 this year, for the first time in 80 years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) increased the statutory fee limitations for architects working on construction projects within the purview of the army, navy, and air force from six to 10 percent. 

One of AIA’s biggest legislative pushes in the next year will be to expand this scope to include all federal projects, including other defense contracts outside the entities listed above, and civilian contracts through the General Services Administration (GSA) and other agencies. 

“AIA is aggressively working to clarify existing law and work with our champions in congress to implement Qualifications-Based Selection through the Brooks Act … to restore fairness and parity throughout the federal procurement process,” Waldron says. “AIA’s Public Architects Committee has provided critical subject matter expertise on this issue and we look forward to sharing more updates on this in 2025.”   

Part 2: Local design freedom for federal buildings

Additionally, AIA urges the codification of the GSA’s Design Excellence Program across all federal agencies, which it sees as crucial for ensuring that local communities have the design freedom needed for federal building projects. Importantly, it will also integrate local community goals and industry best practices into planning and design decisions.  

Student loans

Student loan debt is currently impacting many young peoples’ ability to achieve financial security and save for retirement, including many recent architecture school graduates.  

AIA supports the expansion of student loan forgiveness programs, particularly for graduates who enter public service or work in underserved communities. It also supports the expansion of current loan repayment assistance programs and scholarship opportunities to help alleviate the financial challenges faced by future professionals.  

Historic preservation

AIA supports policies that will enhance or broaden the path for adaptive reuse of historic structures, which also  consume fewer natural resources and energy than comparable new construction. Increasing access to historic tax credits while also expanding funding and technical support for these projects is a way to ensure that they’ll remain a viable option for architects and their clients.

Lakisha Ann Woods, AIA's EVP/CEO, emphasizes that AIA is working hard to stay on top of issues impacting architects and their work, now and in the future. 

"AIA leadership and our advocacy team are focused on addressing what matters most to our members and the communities we serve," she says. "We are listening, engaging, and ensuring that architects have a powerful voice in shaping policies that impact our profession, our communities, and our planet."