Legislative State-of-Play
Despite the looming “X-date” (now expected to be June 5) by which the United States could default on its debt, partisan disputes in Congress over the deal struck this weekend by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remain on full display. In contrast, the bipartisan, bicameral reintroduction of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) of 2023, S. 1557 and H.R. 3238, on May 11 stands out as a shining example of Democrats and Republicans in Congress working together to find effective policy solutions.
ACTION and our partners are securing cosponsorship for the legislation at a record pace. Less than three weeks since the bill’s introduction, the bill has 14 Senators and 94 Representatives signed on, with supporters evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Moreover, the House cosponsors include 70 percent of the Ways and Means Committee–a fantastic outcome so early in the new Congress.
As reported in last month’s membership call, the AHCIA of 2023 largely mirrors the legislation in the 117th Congress. Updated fact sheets, summaries, and detailed descriptions of the bills are posted on ACTION’s Advocacy Toolkit.
Now is an excellent time for Housing Credit advocates to reach out to their Members of Congress and ask that they cosponsor the AHCIA of 2023. ACTION is targeting Republican members of Congress, to match with the small queue of Democratic members currently waiting to sign on officially. The legislation’s Congressional leads will continue to add Democratic and Republican cosponsors in pairs to maintain the bipartisanship.
The ACTION Campaign has developed a number of advocacy materials to help support your outreach, including National, State, and Congressional District Fact Sheets, which we have updated to reflect AHCIA’s introduction and sample emails for outreach. We also have a complete list of cosponsors from last Congress, where you can check if your Senator or Representative has cosponsored in the past, as well as the current cosponsors.
ACTION to Rollout Letter to Congress Signed by Over 2,600 Organizations
On May 31, 2023, ACTION will send a letter to congressional leadership in support of the AHCIA signed by over 2,600 organizations, businesses, and public entities. Signatories include ACTION members and other Housing Credit supporters requesting that Members of Congress support the legislation through cosponsorship and urging them to include the bill’s provisions to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit in any tax legislation that moves forward.
Watch for the letter tomorrow and help share it on social media!
ACTION Membership
In May, the ACTION Campaign welcomed 37 new members to the coalition.
Help ACTION continue to grow our membership and advocacy strength by encouraging your networks to support affordable housing and the Housing Credit by joining the coalition. Membership is free.
Please help us to welcome the following new members:
- Aberdeen Capital, Washington
- Abode Services, California
- All Souls Housing Corporation, Virginia
- Arizona Affordable Housing Development, Inc., Arizona
- Atlantic Development & Investments, Inc., Arizona
- BC Davenport, Minnesota
- Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Alabama
- BridgeWater Real Estate Brokerage, Maryland
- Castellan Real Estate Partners, New York
- Covington Associates Consulting | CAC, New York
- Delta Property Management, Mississippi
- Endurance Housing, California
- Family Resources of New Orleans, Louisiana
- GLS Properties, Minnesota
- Hamilton Housing Advisors, New Jersey
- HILOA Housing, Virginia
- Housing Consultants of America, Arizona
- Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Indiana
- Kitch Attorneys and Counselors, Michigan
- Kittrell Insurance Services, North Carolina
- Maranda Jacobs, KW Ballantyne, NC Realtor, North Carolina
- Merak Development, LLC, Missouri
- National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, Washington
- Neighborhood Concepts, Inc., Alabama
- New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, New Jersey
- Opportunity Council, Washington
- Progress Center for Independent Living, Illinois
- Sandhills Community Action Program, North Carolina
- Stone Soup Development, Florida
- Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium, Washington
- The Alpert Group, New Jersey
- The Empowered Network, North Carolina
- The Wentwood Companies, Texas
- Township of North Bergen Housing Authority, New Jersey
- Triple C Housing, Inc., New Jersey
- Wisznia | Architecture+Development, Louisiana
- Zeffert & Associates, Missouri
