Congress is currently negotiating a $3.5 trillion legislative package known as the Build Back Better Act, and we need ACTION members help to ensure the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) production priorities remain in the bill. As you know, the House Ways and Means Committee passed its portion of the Democrats’ Build Back Better infrastructure legislation last week, which included ACTION’s top Housing Credit production priorities from the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. The committee’s proposal would provide the single largest investment in the Housing Credit program since its inception and signals a positive step forward as the package starts coming together, but there are a number of challenges ahead as progressive and moderate Democrats in Congress remain divided on the size and scope of the package.
Over the coming days, and potentially weeks, the final makeup and price tag for the Build Back Better infrastructure package will be decided. This means it is a critically important time for ACTION members to express local support for the Housing Credit and demonstrate its role in bolstering our nation’s infrastructure. We are asking ACTION members to contact their Democratic Representatives and Senators and urge them to reach out to House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Leader Schumer, as well as Senate Democrats and Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee to request that the Housing Credit production provisions, as outlined in the Build Back Better legislation passed by Ways and Means, are included in the final reconciliation package. As a reminder, while the Housing Credit has strong bipartisan support in Congress, the Build Back Better legislation is expected to proceed through a partisan reconciliation process, which is why we are focusing on Democrats for this outreach.
Attached is a letter sent to House and Senate leadership from ACTION’s co-chairs and a number of Steering Committee members, which you may include in your outreach. We’ve also included a sample email in case it is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Krista D’Alessandro, kdalessandro@enterprisecommunity.org, if you need congressional staff contact information or if you have questions.
We appreciate your attention to this matter.
Sample Email for Outreach
Hi [Staffer Name],
I hope you are well during this busy time in Congress! I am writing to request your Representative/Senator Name’s support for the inclusion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) production provisions in the final reconciliation package. Affordable and safe housing is the heart of our country’s infrastructure, and the Housing Credit is our country’s primary tool to create and preserve desperately needed affordable housing across the country.
It is estimated that the provisions to expand the Housing Credit in the Build Back Better Act, as passed by the Ways and Means Committee, could help affordably house more than 3.2 million people over the next ten years. The financing of these homes would also support more than 2 million jobs, nearly $235 billion in wages and business income, and $81 billion in tax revenue over a decade – at a time when our economy needs it the most. The linked blog post also includes breakdowns on the impact by state as well, which may be of interest.
[Additional context on the need and your work in the state]
The Housing Credit is a proven and widely supported program across all parts of the country. The ACTION Campaign [, of which we are a member,] is a coalition of over 2,400 national, state, and local organizations and businesses who recognize the power of the Housing Credit as the primary tool to create and preserve desperately needed affordable housing. ACTION’s leadership and Steering Committee recently sent a letter to Congressional leadership to ask that these critical Housing Credit production provisions be preserved and enacted in the final reconciliation package, which I have included for your review.
Thank you for your consideration and please let me know if I can provide additional information or data on the Housing Credit.
Best,
[Name]
