Today Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and over 50 other Representatives called on House leadership to take action on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) in any year-end legislation. A bipartisan letter co-signed by a group of 54 House members, nearly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, focused on restoring the 12.5% temporary Housing Credit allocation increase that expired at the end of 2021 and lowering the 50 percent bond financing test to 25 percent to spur the construction of urgently-needed affordable housing.
Though negotiations on a year-end tax package have not begun in earnest yet, this strong bipartisan support will help provide momentum as Congress returns today for our allies to continue pushing to include our top Housing Credit priorities in any legislation that may materialize.
“Due to congressional inaction to extend this increase, every state is now facing a 12.5 percent cut to Housing Credit resources during an affordable housing shortage,” the bipartisan letter states. “In addition to reversing this cut and extending the 12.5 percent increased Housing Credit allocation, more affordable housing resources are desperately needed. We are now at an inflection point in our country which demands an urgent policy response to increase affordable housing production.”
To increase affordable housing production, the letter calls on House leaders to lower the 50 percent test to 25 percent. “Without further congressional action, state and local governments and affordable housing developers are limited in their ability to finance critical new housing stock,” the letter states. “This barrier makes building affordable housing more costly and burdensome.”
According to Novogradac, these two provisions alone are estimated to build or preserve 1.54 million new affordable homes over the next decade.
The AHTCC was also among more than 2,500 organizations and businesses that signed another letter last week from the ACTION Campaign urging an increase to the Housing Credit allocation and lowering the 50 percent test in legislation this year.
“We applaud Reps. DelBene and Wenstrup for recognizing the immediate and urgent need to take action to address our affordable housing crisis, and for galvanizing bipartisan support around these critical proposals to expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit,” said AHTCC Chief Executive Officer Emily Cadik. “These measures will allow us to immediately ramp up affordable housing production and tackle one of the primary drivers of inflation at a time when rents are skyrocketing.”
“We are pleased to see such a strong showing of bipartisan support from members of Congress to advance critical Housing Credit provisions to alleviate a growing shortage of affordable homes that impacts every state and congressional district,” said Matt Josephs, AHTCC Board President and Senior Vice President for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. “Throughout its more than 30-year history, the Housing Credit has maintained strong bipartisan support, and this letter demonstrates that it remains an issue that is uniting lawmakers behind the goal of advancing effective and immediate solutions to the nation’s affordable housing crisis.”
AHTCC members were instrumental in building such a high level of bipartisan support for this letter under a very short timeframe, and we thank all AHTCC members for your advocacy. Please stay tuned for more information on advocating for the Housing Credit throughout the lame duck session of Congress.
Letter Signatories
Republican Signatories
- Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)
- Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE)
- Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH)
- Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI)
- Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH)
- Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS)
- Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA)
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
- Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)
- Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH)
- Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX)
- Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH)
- Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD)
- Rep. David Joyce (R-OH)
- Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA)
- Rep. Young Kim (R-CA)
- Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL)
- Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA)
- Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-KS)
- Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV)
- Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA)
- Rep. John Rose (R-TN)
- Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)
- Rep. Williams Timmons (R-SC)
- Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI)
- Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)
Democratic Signatories
- Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA)
- Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA)
- Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA)
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA)
- Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
- Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
- Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
- Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA)
- Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)
- Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY)
- Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-MI)
- Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)
- Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
- Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV)
- Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
- Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA)
- Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA)
- Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
- Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
- Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL)
- Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL)
- Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ)
- Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY)
- Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)
- Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY)
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