U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank Statement on May 2009 New Residential Construction

The Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau today released data on building permits and housing starts in May 2009, showing that building permits rose 4.0 percent in May to 518,000 at an annual rate, and housing starts rose 17.2 percent to 532,000.

“Even as we see important glimmers of light like today’s increases, we have not yet seen consistent gains,” Blank said. “The economic environment remains difficult. That’s why it’s important that we continue advancing an agenda to improve the nation’s long-term fiscal health, and nothing is ultimately more important for that than reforming America’s healthcare system.”