Yesterday, 120 national and statewide housing and community development organizations and coalitions – including numerous ACTION members – sent a letter to Senate leadership in support of the Housing Credit provisions in the tax bill that passed the House 357-70 on January 31, urging Senate action. As a reminder, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) contains provisions based on sections of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (H.R. 3238 / S. 1557) that would expand Housing Credit production. As set forth in the larger tax bill, these provisions would temporarily restore the 12.5 percent expansion of the 9 Percent Credit and lower the bond financing threshold for the 4 Percent Credit from 50 percent to 30 percent. Those two provisions would finance an estimated 200,000 additional affordable rental homes nationwide; generate over $34 billion in wages and business income; support over 304,000 jobs; and generate almost $12 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue. It potentially represents the largest single investment in affordable housing in decades. The letter also received positive coverage today in POLITICO’s Morning Tax newsletter.
We need ACTION members to reach out and urge your Senators to:
- Support these critical Housing Credit resources, and
- Express their support to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), encouraging them to take action on the bill.
The Senate will recess from February 12-25, which means most Senators will be home. This is a perfect time for advocates to request meetings with Senators or their staff, invite them to property site visits, and write timely op-eds and letters to your newspaper’s editor.
To assist advocates, ACTION created a webpage with links to templates and other materials to help with your outreach. Be sure to share the new support letter and the endorsement of the tax package by the National Governors Association with your Senators. If you have any questions or need help with contact information for your Senators, please don’t hesitate to email us.
