The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition (AHTCC) looks forward to working with President-Elect Donald Trump, his administration and the 115th Congress to address America’s growing housing affordability crisis which hurts our economy and communities.
During his acceptance speech, President-Elect Trump offered a vision for a “project of national growth and renewal,” citing as a top priority investment in cities and infrastructure. Quality affordable rental housing is a vital part of America’s infrastructure. Like roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, we cannot prosper as a nation without them or without addressing our deepening housing affordability crisis.
Between 2001 and 2014 rents rose 7 percent. Renter incomes fell 9 percent during the same period. This growing gap between rents and incomes, paired with an increasing number of households choosing to rent instead of buy and the inability of new construction to keep pace with demand has led to record levels of people, 21.3 million renters, paying more than they can afford on housing. And the problem is projected to get worse.
Any serious solution to addressing it must involve both increasing the supply of affordable rental homes through new construction and preserving existing affordable homes, which is why Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016 to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
Such bipartisan support speaks to the Housing Credit’s three decades of success as America’s primary tool for creating and preserving affordable rental homes for veterans who have served our country, especially noteworthy as we approach Veteran’s Day tomorrow, families, seniors, and people with special needs. Since President Reagan signed it into law, the Housing Credit has brought $100 billion in private investment into communities nationwide, helping to create 3 million homes overall and support 110,000 jobs per year.
A proven job creator and catalyst for economic and community development, it draws on the accountability and ingenuity of the private sector to provide the foundation for individual, family and national success: stable homes for our people. Research shows a lack of affordable housing hurts our economy and threatens workers’ ability to excel on the job, kids’ chances to succeed in the classroom, and families’ capacity to stay healthy – because home is more than shelter. It’s the foundation of opportunity and economic mobility.
We look forward to working with the Trump administration and Congress in support of national growth and renewal, recognizing the surging demand for affordable rental housing nationwide — and the critical role of the Housing Credit in addressing that need while strengthening our economy, creating jobs, and increasing opportunity in communities across the country.
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